In July and August, we asked the community to share their experiences and ideas about parking in Carnegie, Elsternwick and Bentleigh. Nearly 5,000 people took part through online surveys, emails, focus groups and conversations. Thank you to everyone who contributed — your feedback has helped shape the next steps.

What the community told us

Feedback showed that parking experiences differ across the three shopping strips. Bentleigh was generally seen as the easiest place to park, while Carnegie was the most challenging, particularly in the evenings and on weekends. Elsternwick tended to sit somewhere in between.

Many people shared frustrations about congestion, short time limits and having to circle the block to find a space. Others said parking works well for them and cautioned against changes that could affect accessibility or local businesses.

One message was clear: most people do not support user-pays parking, especially on-street. Concerns included cost-of-living pressures, fairness for ratepayers, impacts on local businesses, and accessibility for older people and people with disability.

If user-pays parking were ever considered in the future, most respondents said it should apply to only a small number of spaces, with the majority remaining free. People also said it’s important to have simple options that don’t rely solely on smartphone apps.

What people do support

While user-pays parking received little support, the community was more open to other practical improvements, including:

• reviewing and aligning time limits to better reflect how people use the shopping strips
• improved enforcement to reduce overstaying and misuse of disability spaces
• clearer signage and more consistent parking rules
• encouraging walking, cycling and public transport where possible.

Many people also said that if money were ever raised through parking, it should be reinvested locally in things like safety, lighting, greenery, better footpaths and long-term parking solutions.

Council’s recommended approach

At its meeting on 16 December 2025, Council endorsed a cautious, staged approach that focuses on research, consistency and fairness.

As part of this approach, Council will introduce smart parking sensors in Bentleigh, Carnegie and Elsternwick. These sensors will help Council better understand how parking is used, support more timely and efficient enforcement, and provide clearer information about parking demand.

The sensor data will be reviewed over a 12-month period, with transparent reporting back to Council and the community. Importantly, no user-pays parking will be introduced during this review period.

Council will also explore a smart app to provide real-time parking availability information and review parking time limits to improve consistency. This might mean changes to restrictions during evenings and weekends across all three activity centres.

What happens next

We know how much our community values our shopping strips, and we want to get this right. This work is about planning carefully and using evidence to guide future decisions. We’ll continue to keep you informed as this work progresses.

Learn more about the community’s feedback and read the full engagement report: www.haveyoursaygleneira.com.au/parking

Watch the Council meeting (16 December 2025): webcast.gleneira.vic.gov.au