To: City of Sydney council, We, the undersigned, as citizens, residents, employees, consumers, and visitors of the City of Sydney, demand the creation of more motorcycle and motor-scooter parking across the CBD. The popularity of motorcycles as a daily form of transportation is greatly increasing. With the substantial increase in petrol prices, traffic, and congestion, many drivers are leaving their cars at home in favour of a motorcycle as a primary mode of transportation. However due to the popularity, depending on the designated area, motorcycle parking spots fill up completely between roughly 8am and 9am, at which point, no other viable option exists than to park their bike in a non-designated motorcycle parking area, or leave their motorcycle at home and either catch a taxi, drive into work in their car, or join the already overcrowded public transport system, which is another issue in itself. As detailed on: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au "Motorcycle and scooter ownership and use is growing rapidly in metropolitan Sydney, and in the City of Sydney. Motorcycles are an enjoyable, fuel-efficient and low cost alternative to private vehicle use. To address problems faced by motorcycle riders, the City has adopted a Motorcycle and Scooter Strategy and Action Plan." The major areas of focus in this plan are: i) No More Tickets in Timed Areas - this pilot is a step in the right direction for short term visitors, however for Monday to Friday 9-5 workers, adhering to the signed time restrictions generally does not allow any benefit to come from this plan. ii) New Untimed Parking Spaces in the City Centre - theoretically the plan to add 100 new spaces is a good one. However, in reality, there is a serious lack of motorcycle spots as a great number of viable spaces have been removed by the parking officers recently strictly enforcing the “Stop on path/strip in built-up area” penalty notices, which many of motorcyclists have received. Some good examples of this are up the northern end of Clarence St where for years there has been an out-of-the-way from pedestrians parking bay, the removal of allowed casual parking on Erskine St near Sussex St, and the strict enforcement of the no parking on paths well out of the way of pedestrian travel in laneways and other such nooks well out of the way. With the removal of these parking spots, large areas of concrete remain that is largely unused. We, the undersigned request from the City of Sydney the following 2 items: 1) The creation of significantly more untimed street parking around Sydney to encourage motorcycle riding into the city. A single car space can fit roughly 6-7 motorbikes/scooters. Encouraging motorcycle riding reduces pollution, reduces traffic congestion, reduces parking congestion, and reduces roadway wear and tear. All this results in lower costs to the City of Sydney for roadway repair and maintenance, reduces the need for new roadways, and reduces the need for large parking lots and parking structures. A review of smaller than a standard car non-utilised areas of Sydney's roads which are designated as No Parking for no apparent reason other than that no car would fit, would also be timely. This would create immediate benefit without reducing any current on-street automobile parking spaces. 2) A less stringent approach to enforcing the STOP ON PATH/STRIP IN BUILT-UP AREA penalty notices, accompanied by a clear definition of which areas are fine to park, so that riders who are trying to do the right thing are not penalised. An example of this would be completely opening up areas that do not obstruct pedestrians pathway such as the northern end of Clarence St and clearly marking them as motorcycle parking areas. For non-marked areas, a clear and feasible rule would be needed such as "if a pedestrian pathway exists, x metres from the road, and not obstructing pathways/doors/windows" or the rule that exists in Melbourne "at least one vehicle length from the building line, and at least one wheel diameter from the kerb" which would be suitable for pathways that are x metres wide. The idea is to allow motorcycles to: a) park on pathways on main roads if they are wide enough, such as is allowed on the wide streets of Melbourne. b) park in little areas/nooks in laneways etc where they are not obstructing pathways/doors/windows Additionally, it would be only be fair to offer immunity from the new congestion toll from the Harbour Bridge for motorcyclists/motor-scooters, as the congestion footprint is negligible. Ideally, abolishing the toll along toll roads completely for motorcyclists/scooter-riders would be preferred, as is the case in Melbourne. Sincerely, The Undersigned