Parking fees for petrol guzzlers
Posted February 1st, 2007 in The Desk, Roads, Urbanism
Local councils are exploring the idea of tiered parking fees - if you drive a fuel-inefficient vehicle you’ll pay more.
Inner-city councils will be urged to charge residents with petrol guzzling cars more for their parking permits - a scheme that netted a council almost $175,000 last financial year. The Mayor of North Sydney, Genia McCaffery, introduced the scheme in 2005 and said yesterday she would use her role as the president of the Local Government Association to encourage other councils to go greener.
It’s an interesting idea, on the surface some may regard it as yet another punitive price signal imposed on them by Govt. Indeed the Mayor of Marrickville, a man with a certain populist outlook on all kinds of matters articulates the motorists POV.
The Mayor of Marrickville, Morris Hanna, said his council would continue to charge one fee. “I don’t want to interfere in someone’s freedom [in choosing] what car they want to drive,” he said.
Hmmmmm. Polluting your environment as a freedom? Obviously the oxygen depriving gas of libertarian ideology has found a willing nostril in the council chambers.
David Jeffery tackles the idea this way:
What they miss is that when a local council, which represents the local community, sends out a letter that tells everyone they’re going to charge more for parking permits for petrol-guzzlers because they’re concerned about climate change, that tells people “The community thinks fuel-efficient cars are cool and thinks big petrol-guzzlers are uncool” and, because people feel a connection to their community, that affects their purchasing decisions, probably more so than the $40 charge itself. Measures like this put the issue of driving and its effect on climate change on the agenda – it grabs people’s attention. Of course, councils could just send out a letter that says that gas guzzlers are uncool – but backing that with a $40 fee focuses your attention that little bit more.
However, Steven Noble thinks there may be another way to skin this particular cat:
Action in this area is urgently required, but it’s the responsibility of federal government. An appropriate response from local government would be to dramatically raise parking permit fees for any residence that has more than one car. In that case, the specifically local impact of the behaviour — streets clogged with parked cars — is clear.
One of the simplest things any individual or family can do reduce their climate footprint is eliminate that second, or in all too many cases, third car. Though in my conversations with some customers who are looking at commuting by bike, several have mentioned that they plan to ditch the second car, so whatever the motivation, I think this idea may already be apparent to many.
But David is also right about the cool factor, there is a lot of climate and emissions awareness in the air (so to speak) and I think a lot of folks are feeling a bit guilty and are anxious to be seen doing the right thing - climate cool is becoming the new black so whatever the price signal most folks will accept being prodded into paying.
technorati tags: parking, fees, sydney,
What others have to say…
Privatize profit, socialize the damage all in the name of choice and freedom.
Japan, European nations and (I think) a couple of US states charge an annual vehicle tax that is based on engine displacement. The UK charges a tax based on emissions.
February 2nd, 2007 at 10:00 am
How far do people want to take this ‘interfering with our freedoms’ furphy? Charging someone an extra $40 year as some reflection of the extra cost they impose on the community is hardly the same as banning something.
Having parking fees at all interferes with my freedom to choose to park wherever I want. I’d suspect that if Marrickville Council is really worried about interfering with people’s free choices, there’s better places they could start.
February 2nd, 2007 at 11:23 am
Absolutely David! As Lela would know, like getting Chinese merchants in Marrickville to post their signage in English, which of course is exactly what the Mayor is doing.
It seems like he’s got a very contradictory scale on how you rate freedoms. It’s ok to take away the right of Chinese merchant to do business in the way he/she pleases but don’t come between a motorist and his right to choose.
And Fritz is right about the private/public split. But I think the motoring holiday is just about over, drivers will have to pay the true costs of their behaviour in future.
[…] Mayor Hanna has used this line before, previously on the issue of parking fees. Here is what he had to say back in February. The Mayor of Marrickville, Morris Hanna, said his council would continue to charge one fee. “I don’t want to interfere in someone’s freedom [in choosing] what car they want to drive” […]
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I heard on the radio before about a family lamenting the price of petrol - “We’re a four person family with two drivers, and we’re having to look at getting rid of our third car because…”
Seriously, WTF?
And Mr Hanna, as a resident of your council, I’m very disappointed in you.