The City of Melbourne will issue free temporary parking permits to frontline workers responding to COVID-19 as parking restrictions come back into effect in areas marked with green signs across the municipality.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the temporary permits will be issued to authorised staff from eight Melbourne hospitals, Victoria Police members and staff from the Melbourne Assessment Centre.
“We are issuing green dashboard stickers for up to 8000 frontline workers to recognise their role in responding to COVID-19,” the Lord Mayor said.
“From Monday 11 May, you will need to pay to park in the city if you haven’t been issued with one of these permits.”
The City of Melbourne was the first Council in Victoria to temporarily suspend parking restrictions to assist key workers during the first stages of the COVID-19 lockdown.
“At the start of lockdown, Melbourne’s streets were empty and it was appropriate to have temporary unrestricted parking in areas with green signs to support workers who were still required at their workplace,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Vehicles are now returning to the city and traders and residents have called for greater turnover of car parks outside their homes and businesses to welcome customers and visitors.
“It is appropriate to reinstate parking fees and ensure motorists adhere to parking signs so that everyone has fair access to car parks and so we can support city traders that are currently open.”
City of Melbourne parking officers continue to patrol the city and will resume checking parking metres and issuing fines in areas with green signs on Monday 11 May 2020.
It continues to be illegal for everyone to park in parking spaces with red signs in the municipality, such as No Stopping areas, tow-away clearways, loading zones, and permit zones
The City of Melbourne temporarily waived restrictions for 8788 parking spaces with green signs on Friday 27 March 2020.
“Normally we record one million parking transactions every month. We can see a trend with more cars returning to the city so our parking officers will work to ensure parking remains safe and accessible for all users,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Parking enforcement is a necessary and important service to ensure that all drivers have fair access to car parks. While nobody likes to pay for parking or receive a fine, our experience tells us that most people understand the need for this system.”
The permits will be issued to frontline workers in conjunction with their employers. The permits will be reviewed on a monthly basis or until the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
The City of Melbourne is continuing to support the community during COVID-19 through business and arts grants, rates relief, the provision of essential services and assistance to the most vulnerable members of our community.
