Picture this. You’ve spent 15 minutes circling a car park trying to find the next available spot. Your blood pressure is rising, there's sweat on your palms, you’ve turned the music down, and when you’re on the verge of rage, you finally find that coveted, car-free spot.
Without hesitation, you turn in, only to see a motorcycle occupying the only free space in a sea of parked vehicles. This has become a common experience for me, and I’m sure a lot of drivers can attest to the unparalleled levels of frustration as you reverse back out and continue the hunt.
Sure, motorcycles or e-bikes offer a cheaper and more convenient form of transport for riders, and I absolutely see the appeal in becoming a rider, particularly as petrol prices reach new heights.
But in a car-loving country like Australia, where not only the volume of cars is increasing, but also the number of new models, it’s baffling that motorcyclists are lumped in with drivers in the car park free-for-all.
I’m not saying there should be a blanket ban on motorcycles in car parks, but given drivers significantly outnumber riders – and spaces in most parking areas are car-sized – drivers should have priority over riders.
I propose two solutions: a quick fix and a not-so-fast (and admittedly costly) one. The first is that motorcycles should be legally allowed to park on footpaths, just as bicycles can.
Victoria is currently the only state that allows riders to park their motorbikes on footpaths, provided they are parked safely and do not block pedestrians.
Other states should follow suit. This could alleviate the frustrations of both drivers and riders without the need to invest heavily in infrastructure.
The second solution is to simply create dedicated parking spaces for motorcycles in high-density areas. Urban planners have started doing it with EV-only car parks, and it's about time riders have their own area to avoid taking up an available car park.
Whether either of these two solutions would work is not a foregone conclusion, but something needs to change in order to ease the car park battle between drivers and riders.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
