Thinking about Mainland Parking for Island Residents
By Angela Hoskins
This is Victoria Point where the ferry and vehicle barge leaves the mainland for Coochiemudlo Island. Timed visitor parking can be seen to the right of the jetty. Near the jetty, steps lead up to the treed area where many island residents park their cars in an untimed, free parking lot. Marine Rescue Queensland is positioned to the right of the low-lying visitor parking (see the ramp, far right of the ferry terminal). This land is also zoned for recreational use.
This article was updated on 9 February.
If you live on an island without bridge access, chances are that finding a parking space for your vehicle on the mainland – paid or otherwise — is, or has been, a pain point. Especially for daily or regular commuters. Pain points include not enough carpark spaces for residents and visitors, vehicle vandalism, and theft of parts including car wheels.
This article looks at general issues for island residents, and parking options/solutions in place for residents of three sets of island communities:
Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBIs) (Redlands Coast)
Scotland Island (Pittwater, Sydney)
Coochiemudlo Island (Redlands Coast).
Most mainland carparks used by island residents are zoned as public or visitor parking. This impacts availability of spaces for island residents and visitors, especially on weekends and during holiday times. Island residents often strategise the timing of their trips to the mainland, if they possibly can, to minimise their encounters with chockablock carparks. This isn’t an option if you’re a regular commuter, or if you, or your children, access extra-curricular activities after school. If you have mainland work to get to on the weekend? That’s tough going.
SMBIs currently have a new development in progress that will provide user-pays mainland parking spaces that will theoretically free up some of the spaces in the free visitor-parking area. Scotland Island has a range of mainland parking and transport options in place although availability and affordability remain high-priority issues for off-shore residents. For Coochiemudlo Island residents, establishing a mainland parking solution is, seemingly, a long way off. If more parking spaces are opened up or constructed at Victoria Point, where much of the land is zoned residential or recreational, you can bet that there will be a significant cost to users’ hip pocket and/or the environment considering the Redlands Coast growing population.
Town planning and the bigger picture
Population growth, the housing crisis, and consequent development. We’ve all noticed these factors influencing change on the Redlands Coast and similar areas around Australia, especially close to capital cities. Traffic is hectic. Cars are everywhere. Spaces in carparks often scarce, especially in areas that cater for recreational activities for visitors or day trippers.
Over the decades we’ve been geared to expect cheap and easy parking. David Mepham, in his book Rethinking Parking, offers thought provoking perspectives to planning and urban design in the 21st century that some of us may find challenging and inconvenient — especially for a Coochiemudlo resident who relies on public parking availability at Victoria Point:
Place — if we gave drivers all the parking they wanted, the destination would not be worth visiting
Politics — parking is intensely territorial, emotional, and prone to populism, and this is a barrier to strategic and sustainable parking reform
Policy — parking tends to be focused on the 'me, here and now' needs of the driver at the expense of bigger picture and longer-term policy objectives
Price — subsidised parking exists behind opaque pricing mechanisms. In contrast, a transparent accounting of costs is a vehicle for strategic parking reform
Professional practice — parking is a significant land-use issue, located at the juncture of transport and urban planning and design. Improving urban parking outcomes requires an integrated and collaborative planning process.
Policy makers adapting to change
For decades, Australians, in the main, have had a love affair with their cars — or at least a reliance on them. However, in recent times, in urban areas at least, Gen Zs (those born between 1983 to 2022) are less likely get their driver’s licence. Or, at least delay getting their licence especially compared with their parents or older generations. This trend is happening across the world, not just Australia. (Young people less interested in their parents in learning to drive, ABC News.)
This shift in young-driver behaviour could prompt town planners and governments to rethink how to provide a better public transport service. Integrating commuter hubs and park & ride facilities in high-density suburbs have the potential of freeing up more land for housing, or recreation, while dealing with the problem of car park availability and affordability.
Demographic considerations
Will the shift in young-driver behaviour influence policy decisions for Coochiemudlo Islands mainland parking problems? Demographics influence policy, and Coochiemudlo Island has an ageing demographic with the majority of residents in their 50s or over, according to the 2021 census.
Island residents who regularly commute to the mainland for work, medical reasons, or lifestyle reasons have the greatest need for a solution to the mainland parking space availabilty and affordability. This group of regular commuters covers a range of ages, from parents of school-age children, to older retirees.
At the risk of over generalising, it is lower-income residents, young adults to middle-aged residents who work on the mainland, families with school-age children, who bear the brunt of the low or no parking space availability. However, implementing a solution won’t be easy, and it will be hard to please everyone. Governments and decision makers will look at factors like capacity and demand, costings, infrastructure, security, transport integration, environmental impact, future growth and adapatility.
Current parking options for three island communities, plus potential solutions, are listed below.
Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBIs) — mainland parking
Weinam Creek at Redland Bay is the gateway to the Southern Moreton Bay Islands — Macleay, Lamb, Karragarra and Russell Islands. Free parking is available for island residents and visitors but there are not enough spaces to cater for need. Considering the number of island residents and visitors who use this gateway, Redland City Council has started a redevelopment project to provide more parking spaces.
SMBI population: The 2021 Australian Census amounts to a SMBI population of 7,635, with the following for each island:
Russell Island 3,698
Macleay Island 3,193
Lamb Island 504
Karragarra Island 240
Parking options at Weinam Creek and the Redevelopment
In 2013, the Weinam Creek Priority Development Area (PDA) was declared to address parking and other issues. The resulting project aims to construct a multi-storey development that will deliver more than 500 new car parks to island residents and visitors and a shopping precinct. Construction of the new multi-level car park and commercial precinct is planned to commence in 2025. See details and FAQs about the Weinman Creek PDA.
It’s important to note that this development was on the drawing board for more than ten years prior to starting.
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Costings for use of the new parking facility have yet to be finalized. However, free parking will continue at the Marina Redland Bay, and the open-air car park adjacent to the ferry terminal.
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Public unpaid parking is located in and around the:
Weinam Creek ferry terminal
Moores Rd car park
Barge terminal
Banana Street temporary car park (while the redevelopment is being constructioned).
The temporary parking for residents and visitors offers limited spaces for:
vehicles with time restrictions of either 2P, 12P and 18P and 7 days
loading zones
boat trailers with time restrictions.
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The Russell Island Progress Association is in communication with Rebecca Young, local state member, to put in place 50% minimum barge fee subsidy for SMBI residents. If this is achieved, the outcome will result in some residents being able to keep their vehicles off the mainland therefore freeing up more carparking space at Redland Bay.
*Important note: barge fees to the SMBIs are significantly more expensive than the barge fee to and from Coochiemudlo Island from Victoria Point. Also, the distance travelled by the barge route to the SMBIs is greater. The population of the SMBIs is significantly more than that of Coochiemudlo Island.
Scotland Island — mainland parking
Residents of Scotland Island catch the ferry or commuter boat at Church Point Commuter Wharf.
Whereas there are numerous parking options at Church Point, for both on- and off-shore residents and visitors, not all are convenient or affordable for residents. Availability is still an issue, especially on weekends and holiday periods when pretty Church Point bustles with restaurant patrons, event attendees, and day trippers. Public transport options do provide some relief to the affordability and convenience issue.
Scotland Island population: 711 (2021 census)
Church Point parking options, costs, and public transport services
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Costs at the carpark depend on the season.
May – September: $8/hour or $35/day
October – April: $10/hour or $40/day
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Permits for street parking at Church Point Reserve Carpark are purchased on an annual or half-year basis.
Permit holders are not guaranteed a space — you may still have to hike or run to catch the ferry.
Annual permit: full fee $619; concession $309.50
Half-year permits: full fee $300; concession $155
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The Church Point Reserved Parking Space Scheme offers reserved parking on the top tier of the Church point carpark.
Annual parking: $6,108
Monthly parking: $509
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A limited number of 5-minute parking to 8-hour parking spaces are available
Parking fines are issued if you overstay.
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Transport NSW offer the following services:
Keoride, for Northern Beaches areas, connects passengers to designated transport hubs and key bus stops.
Park & ride — commuter hubs allow you to park your car, then catch public transport back to Church Point, or onto your work or other destination.
Public transport alternatives — commuter parks, park & ride services
Transport NSW has set up a public transport initiative that offers more affordable options including transport hubs to service residents of Church Point and Scotland Island. These are on offer 7 days a week:
Keoride, for Northern Beaches areas, connects passengers to designated transport hubs and key bus stops
Park & Ride — commuter hubs allow you to park your car in a designated large carpark, then catch public transport back to Church Point, or onto your work or other destination.
Coochiemudlo Island — mainland parking
There has been growing demand for parking spaces at Victoria Point for resident- and visitor-owned vehicles. Difficulties in finding a parking space has been compounded over time because of increases to the population on Coochiemudlo Island, and Victoria Point where new apartment blocks have been built. Visitor and day-tripper numbers to the area have also increased, especially during holiday times and with the introduction of 50 cent ferry fares to Coochiemudlo Island. The problem and stresses of not finding a parking space has been compounded by regular acts of vandalism on cars parked at Victoria Point Reserve.
The carpark spaces at the Victoria Point Reserve are zoned for recreation and visitor use.
Population of Coochiemudlo Island: 850 (2021 census)
Important points:
The parking space availability problem at Victoria Point Reserve gets critical on weekends and during holiday periods. Island residents often strategise the timing of their mainland trips if their lifestyle permits this flexibility.
Aside from assisting with cost-of-living stresses, Queensland’s public transport 50 cent fares was introduced to also help alleviate the statewide urban problem of too many cars on the road and not enough parking. The irony for Coochiemudlo residents is that the cheap fares have escalated visitor numbers to the island and therefore critically limited their mainland parking space availability.
The 50 cent fares to Coochiemudlo Island is not included in the list below of potential solutions. Why? Even before the cheap fare to the island was introduced, weekend parking availability at the Victoria Point Reserve was an issue for island residents. It’s also evident that the cheap fare to Coochiemudlo has presented a raft of other complex issues for the island, so an assessment of whether to continue with the cheap fares to the island is for another investigation or conversation.
Victoria Point parking options and costs
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Victoria Point Reserve is zoned for visitor parking and recreational purposes.
Coochiemudlo Island residents have come to rely on the carpark, on the headland above the ferry terminal, that has spaces for free, time-unlimited parking spaces.
Other parking spaces are time limited, including the parking area near the bus terminal on Masters Ave. Fines apply if you overstay.
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Colburn Avenue Car Park is a paid option with an annual fee of about $1,200. This small, gated car park is a 5-minute walk to the ferry terminal, but availability is limited. As of January 2025, it was reported that there are ‘approximately 86’ people on the waiting list. This car park is managed by the Redland Investment Corporation, the investment arm of Redland City Council.
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Drivers also opt to park along Colburn Avenue, potentially all the way to Pelicans Nest shopping precinct which is about 1.4km or 20 minutes on foot, often with a shopping trolley in tow.
Potential solutions, including public transport
The following ‘potential solutions’ are ideas only. Solutions to the mainland parking space issue are not limited to this list. These ideas are not short-term solutions. They are presented for discussion with the potential to brainstorm further to find a fix for Coochiemudlo Island’s mainland parking problems.
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Would town planners and developers consider a two-tier parking development on Masters Avenue, along the lines of the Scotland Island parking scheme development? If yes, these additional parking spaces would come with significant cost for users.
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Public transport schedules could be improved to make the services more practical for Coochiemudlo Island residents. Currently there are two bus routes offered from Victoria Point — the 270 and the 274. The bus and ferry timetables are not synchronised for convenience — outbound passengers using the 274 route have a significant wait for their bus to arrive.
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Park & Ride Services, along the lines of those offered in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, like the one that services Scotland Island residents.
So, for the Coochiemudlo Island context, this might mean having a parking hub at a council-designated carpark with a bus service that takes residents and visitors to and from the carpark to the ferry terminal.
Would a driverless bus be a cost-effective integration? See related info at Driverless buses can help end the suburbs' public transport woes.
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Not all of us feel confident riding our bicycles on mainland roads. If we had a dedicated track, more residents would feel compelled to ride to the shops, instead of using our mainland cars, to pick up smaller items.
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Depending on your lifestyle, it could be cost effective to have one car that you keep on the island. Residents who don’t currently have a mainland parking solution, and who don’t have to commute to the mainland for work or other regular activity, might consider this option.
This option would be cost-prohibitive for some. But some residents have expressed that this option could work for them.
Barge fee: $70 two way (standard, private vehicle)
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Subsidised barge fees are on the wish list of many island communities without bridge access to the mainland.
One Coochiemudlo Island resident has suggested that island residents should be granted a capped number of free return barge trips to the mainland each week. Even one free barge trip each week would mean that some residents could do without maintaining a mainland vehicle.
Subsidised and/or free barge trips would result in fewer resident-owned cars needing a space at Victoria Point.
This scheme would have to be authorised and paid for by the state government. A cost analysis may result in this being effective if it eliminates the construction of additional carparks and/or park & ride services.
However, as the barge fee to and from Coochiemudlo Island is signifcantly less than those paid to other islands it could be argued that any barge fee subsidy is unjustified
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Permits are often used in urban and suburban areas to allow free or subsidised parking for residents while visitors pay for parking.
A user-pay system for visitor parking may encourage more use of public transport to Victoria Point with the potential of freeing up more parking spaces on weekends or holidays.
*Article update (9 Feb) about proposed subsidised barge fees
Just because the SMBIs may get a barge fee subsidy (an election promise from the LNP), it doesn’t necessarily follow that the state government will subsidise the barge fee to and from Coochiemudlo Island for reasons including:
barge fees to the SMBIs are significantly more expensive than the barge fee to and from Coochiemudlo Island from Victoria Point
the distance travelled by barge on the SMBI route is greater
the population of the SMBIs is significantly more than that of Coochiemudlo Island.
Acknowledgements and thanks to:
Coochiemudlo Island residents | Rae Wear, Peter Wear, Albie Spiteri, Dave Elsdon
Scotland Island resident | Roy Baker
