by Shane Sody
How would New Yorkers feel if areas of their Central Park were devoted to acres of car parking?
In Adelaide we tolerate huge swathes of Open, Green, Public Park Land being covered by private cars, during frequent sporting events, and during the Royal Adelaide Show.
There are serious fines for unauthorised car parking on your Park Lands, but Council parking inspectors have been reluctant to issue these fines, when so many drivers flaunt the restrictions.
Ignoring the sign: cars parked on Ellis Park/ Tampawardli (Park 24)
The issue is not a new one. For decades, the City Council has been unwilling to assert or uphold the idea that Parks are for people, not cars.
SIXTY YEARS AGO! This newspaper cartoon by Robert Hannaford was published in 1965.
Even this year, Kadaltilla/ the Park Lands Authority is still reluctant to push back on the commonly-held assumption that car parking is a legitimate use of your Adelaide Park Lands.
At the Authority's meeting on 30 April 2025, it recommended to the City Council that your Park Lands should continue to be used for car parking during the Royal Adelaide Show.
The Authority did recommend a reduction in car parking, urging the Council to negotiate with the Royal Show Society to work towards:
a (future) minimum 10% reduction in existing car parking on the Adelaide Park Lands; and
at least prohibiting parking within the Key Biodiversity Areas in Golden Wattle Park /Mirnu Wirra (Park 21 West) or Josie Agius Park/Wikaparntu Wirra (Park 22)
The Key Biodiversity Areas in your south-western Park Lands: (left): Josie Agius Park/Wikaparntu Wirra (Park 22) and (right): Golden Wattle Park /Mirnu Wirra (Park 21 West)
The Authority points out that these areas have been used for Royal Adelaide Show car parking since 1926, and that it is “committed to balancing iconic events with the protection of Adelaide’s unique Park Lands.”
What’s THE IDEA OF A PARk?
Are Park Lands just vacant land? Why do we value “Open, Green, Public” spaces?
Josie Agius Park / Wikaparntu Wirra (Park 22)
Not Green
Car parks that have been sealed with bitumen are no longer green. Even on grass, vehicle movements compact soil, and kill flora and fauna.
NOT OPEN, NOR PUBLIC
Whether a car parking place is green, or is sealed with bitumen, each car parking space effectively privatises an additional few square metres. The space occupied by each car is no longer Open nor Public while the car remains.
Josie Agius Park / Wikaparntu Wirra (Park 22)
DISCOURAGES OTHER FORMS OF TRANSPORT
Permitting car parking on Park Lands means there’s less incentive to develop public transport.
There is less incentive for active commuting: such as walking or cycling, which improve public health.
There is less incentive to encourage shared forms of transport; such as ride-sharing vehicles, rented e-scooters and e-bikes.
DISRESPECTS PARK LANDS
Having car parks on your Park Lands encourages disrespect for your Park Lands.
It’s not consistent with the idea of Loving Your Park Lands. It does not value your Park Lands as Open Green Public resources.
In New York, there are a dozen public car parks within an easy walk of the city’s famous Central Park. However no part of Central Park is set aside for car parking.
Car parks within easy walking distance of Central Park, New York.
New Yorkers value and respect their Open, Green, Public Central Park.
In contrast, Adelaide’s Park Lands contain dozens of car parks, with spaces for thousands of cars.
UNDERCUTS CITY BUSINESSES
There are many commercial car parks in the City. The owner of each car park (including the City Council with its “U-Park” sites) has invested heavily in providing convenient car parking sites (for a price).
Offering car parking in Park Lands effectively undercuts these City businesses, and reduces their profitability.
