HASTINGS, VIC — 15 July 2025
Mornington Peninsula Shire is seeking community input on a proposed overhaul of the Hastings Boat Ramp carpark, hoping to fix longstanding congestion problems at one of the region’s most heavily used boating hubs.
Under a concept plan now on public display, the Shire intends to more than double the number of sealed parking bays for trailers — jumping from 40 to 80 — and slightly expand the grassed overflow area. The aim is to ease bottlenecks that regularly leave trailers queued up or parked informally along surrounding roads, frustrating both boaters and local residents.
Beyond more parking, the draft plan promises a safer traffic layout and landscaping upgrades designed to tie the site more closely into the Western Port Bay Trail, which runs along the foreshore. However, the final design is far from settled. Local fishers and recreational boating groups have already floated alternative ideas, such as pushing the sealed trailer bay count even higher — to around 110 — while keeping the unsealed overflow space available for busy days.
The Hastings Boat Ramp is among the busiest on the Peninsula. While the ramp itself saw multi-million dollar improvements completed over recent years — adding new lanes, deeper ramp access and better pontoons — the adjoining carpark has lagged behind. On peak weekends, it’s common to see trailers spilling onto nearby streets or boaters forced into awkward manoeuvres just to exit the facility. Regular ramp users say the carpark layout hasn’t kept pace with demand, raising safety concerns and souring what should be an easy launch onto Western Port Bay.
Mornington Peninsula Shire says it’s deliberately casting the net wide for feedback before locking in detailed designs. Locals are being asked to weigh in on issues like how many formal bays should be sealed, whether to keep some areas grassed for flexibility, the type of landscaping and how best to integrate with the Bay Trail.
An in-person session was held late last month at the Hastings Council office, but feedback remains open online until Wednesday, 23 July. Residents can view concept plans and complete a short survey via the Shire’s “Shape Our Future” portal. Once submissions close, the Shire will revise the plan based on local input before preparing engineering designs and seeking funding for construction. A build timeline is yet to be confirmed.
If the upgrade goes ahead in its current form, it would cap off years of staged improvements to the broader Hastings boating precinct — potentially easing the headache for hundreds of trailer boat owners and bolstering Hastings’ role as a major launch point on Western Port. But with local suggestions still in play, including calls for even more sealed bays, the shape of the final project remains in the community’s hands for now.
Residents, anglers and visitors who frequent the foreshore can view the concept plan and provide feedback at: shape.mornpen.vic.gov.au/hastings-boat-ramp-carpark
