Page 24 - Riding On Autumn 2023

At Parliament House in Melbourne.

Ulyssians at the 1995 park-in in
Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

8000 motorcycles with police escort head up
Bourke Street, Melbourne to Parliament House.
Saturday August 3, 1986.

MRAA

Bruce Jones' footpath motorcycle parking article is very 7am. Some brought folding chairs and beach umbrellas. As
good. It is fair and objective. I find it strange that states the metre expired the riders moved their machines to the next
other than Victoria have not adopted this way to encourage bay to stay legal. The big retailers lost money. The MRA was
motorcycle & scooter commuting to reduce traffic congestion sorry but we did not cause this situation.
and car parking shortages. It adds colour to a city. Tasmania
in particular should adopt it for local benefits and because Car drivers were not best pleased. The MRA had riders hand
Victoria is its’ main source of two-wheel tourists so uniformity drivers notes of apology. The notes said that parking laws
in parking laws makes sense. were a mess and to contact the Town Hall and Parliament to
complain. We supplied phone numbers. Bylaws officers and
In the early 1980s the Motorcycle Riders Association (MRA) police were quietly supportive. At noon, we rode to Parliament
was developing its political muscles so we had some good House to present a submission to the State Opposition. The
connections. A back bencher, Jeff Kennett, was MRA Secretary Media loved it.
Angie Killeen’s local MP. In those days, Melbourne was a
motorcycle friendly city with a pro motorcycle Lord Mayor, By the end of 1986 free, unlimited, footpath motorcycle
Trevor Huggard. Motorcycle parking was getting to be a parking was state law in Victoria. Over nearly 40 years there
problem as the Victorian cities grew. The MRA lobbied for a have been few problems because footpath parking has built-
better deal. in safeguards. Basically, you can’t block pedestrians. Any
problems have mostly been solved by the Motorcycles In
There were bureaucrats that felt exposure to motorbikes Melbourne Committee at the Town Hall. Riders do not want to
had to be reduced to reduce the road toll. Direct action was lose footpath parking so they behave responsibly.
needed. Back then, the big retail stores in Melbourne had just
3 hours trading on a Saturday. Saturday morning shopping There was a second park-in in 1995 when there was a threat
was like the “six o’clock swill” at pubs. There was almost no to footpath parking in Melbourne. The threat failed.
off-street car parking. On-street car bays mostly had a 1 hour
limit.The MRA called on riders to come to town and park 1 Damien Codognotto OAM
bike to a car bay and feed the metre. 8000 turned up around MRAA

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