Riders have been urged to show their support for footpath motorcycle parking by attending a City of Port Phillip council meeting tomorrow night (May 17,2017).
In February, 2016, council began a “six-month trial ban” on footpath motorcycle parking in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda.
City of Port Phillip spokeswoman Fiona Blair said at the time that the six-month motorcycle parking ban trial was in response to “many complaints” about the large number of bikes parked on footpaths and “excessive noise”.
The move sparked a protest by riders.
Riders protesting the footpath parking ban (Photos supplied by Independent Riders Group)Despite the protest and council’s own online survey which showed “a vast majority of support” for lifting the bans, the trial has continued more than a year.
In fact, council is now considering making the bans permanent.
Victorian Motorcycle Council spokesman John Eacott says he will attend the council meeting tomorrow from 6.30pm at the St Kilda Town Hall.
John EacottHe has called on riders to join him and show their support by attending. He is not calling for a rowdy protest, but a “very responsible” show. “No emotive stuff.”
“We find it much better to be conciliatory and consultative, unlike the council’s report where they say they have consulted with motorcycle groups, but haven’t, and ignored 144 out of 185 respondents who have come out against the ban,” he says.
A VMC Facebook post says they only found out about the footpath parking agenda item by accident and had not been told by council.
“We asked about what happened to five alternative parking proposals and were told that community consultation was against them,” the post says.
“They couldn’t point to the feedback and we certainly weren’t consulted. As a result, they initiated a community survey about the footpath parking ban – back in March.
“We asked a couple of weeks back about the outcome from survey and were told we’d be informed. We weren’t.
“It’s hard not to see the council meeting tomorrow as another disrespectful display towards motorcyclists and towards the VMC particularly, which has tried to maintain diplomatic and cordial dialogue about this topic for over a year now.”
The VMC claims the council’s report discounts their submissions and those of more than 100 non-residents, including tourists and visitors who are the economic lifeblood of the tourist area.
“The only acknowledgement of VMC concerns has been that the extent of the ban is being reduced to include just the immediate (large footpath) areas around the Vineyard and Luna Park,” the post says.
Riders have also been urged to contact council and leave a comment at this website.