Blog

YIMBY Qld CEO Natalie Rayment joined Steve Austin on ABC Drive to discuss all things parking, in particular Brisbane City Council’s current proposal to amend City Plan to increase car parking rates for apartments & townhouses in all areas, bar the city core & fringe. 

We understand the proposed draft changes to car parking ratios will:

• Increase car parking ratios for multi-unit dwellings from 1.25 to 2 spaces (a 60% increase) for 2 bedroom units and 1.5 to 2 spaces (a 33% increase) for 3 bedroom units
• Increase car parking ratios for multi-unit dwellings from 1.5 to 2.5 spaces (a 66% increase) for 4+ bedroom units
• Increase the visitor car parking ratio for multi-unit dwellings, which is currently 0.15 per unit or roughly 1 per 7 units, but there is no information yet available as to what this may increase to and
• Remove the ratio reductions for multi-unit dwellings on sites outside the city core and city fringe but otherwise within 400m of a major suburban public transport node. These rates are currently 0.9 for 1 bedroom (with new rates of 1 car space per unit, this is a 10% increase), 1.1 for 2 bedrooms (at the new rate of 2, this is an 82% increase) and 1.3 for 3 bedrooms (at the new rate of 2, this is a 54% increase) and 1.3 for 4 or more bedrooms (at the new rate of 2.5, this is a 92% increase, almost double). 

Natalie shared YIMBY Qld’s concerns with Steve:

1. Increasing car parking rates will come at a cost to our city in terms of housing affordability. At an average cost of $30k to $50k per car parking space, this will add significant construction costs to a development project, pushing up the cost of housing in our city. 

2. The proposed new rates will be higher than those in Sydney & Melbourne and come at a time when progressive cities around the world, including car dominated America, are doing the exact opposite and removing minimum car parking requirements, due to housing costs and the environment. 

3. We need to consider what problem we’re really solving by increasing rates. If the community concern is about traffic and congestion, then we need to be careful about the real effects of this policy. Will it simply increase private car reliance? Or even free up on-street parking spaces near major transport stops, encouraging commuters from further afield to drive into these neighbourhoods, park and take a shorter public transport ride into the city?

4. Why now, when we have increased expenditure by State and BCC on rail, metro and cycleways and we have alternatives – the disrupters like Uber, GoGet & Lime Scooters?

YIMBY Qld will not be supporting these proposed car parking ratio increases, particularly in walking distance to public transport stations. Watch this space for our submission, when the draft amendments are publicly notified later this year. We hope you’ll join us in having your voice heard. 

Natalie Rayment

Co-founder / CEO

Driven by a passion for quality of life in our cities and regions, Natalie co-founded YIMBY Qld in 2016, a not-for-profit public interest organisation, saying ‘yes in my back yard’ to good development that makes for better living. As part of the international YIMBY network, Natalie collaborates with a network of peers from diverse backgrounds, working together towards a common goal of ‘housing for all’.

View all posts