I’ve come up with a solution for our parking woes. Not everyone will like it

June 8, 2026 — 1:30pm

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It may seem as if it’s impossible to find a car park on the street.

But as a recent Grattan Institute report makes clear, Australia has an oversupply of parking, both on streets and in parking lots. Across five of the state capitals, most postcodes have more on-street spaces than there are registered cars.

That’s great for drivers, given most on-street parking outside the inner city is free and has no time limit. Many spaces are used by locals with a driveway or garage who find it more convenient to park on the street.

But abundant street parking comes at a cost. Streets jammed with parked cars look bad. They also remove space for bikes, e-bikes and scooters.

Is it too late to change course? No.

If you look back at street designs by 19th-century planning pioneers, you immediately notice something very different from today’s city streets.

Back then, there was no kerbside parking. Streets were largely shared spaces where walkers, horse coaches, trams and early bicycles mingled. Of course, this was when motor vehicles were just emerging.

As car ownership surged in the 1920s and ’30s, city centres began to struggle with parking shortages, double-parking and endless cruising for........

© The Sydney Morning Herald