Ballarat City Council will consider new technology in a bid to catch more drivers parked illegally in the central business district.
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The advanced metering infrastructure would allow for cars to be monitored from the moment they park until they leave.
It will make it harder for motorists to avoid fines for over staying time limits.
Council will vote on a motion to apply for a $1.5 million federal government grant for “smart parking solutions” on Wednesday night.
The government’s smart cities and suburbs program grant would be matched with a $1.5 million council contribution
Cr Daniel Moloney said there had to be a balance between all-day and restricted parking.
“The days of being able to park out the front of the shop you are going to for free have come and gone,” he said.
“But we also don’t want it to be at the extreme in Melbourne of between $40 to $80 a day for parking.
Cr Moloney said Ballarat had to balance the growing number of CBD workers with the shrinking availability of parking the growth had created. .
“I don’t want to see a situation where we fine people who are just trying to work in the CBD - that is disgraceful,” he said.
“We currently do not have enough parking available in the city for people who are working.
“We are not quite the city where you can park in front of shops for free anymore, but equally parking is not so scarce it is worth a private investor building a multi-story car park yet.”
A report presented to council ahead of the Wednesday’s vote said smart parking had be identified as city’s best option to apply for a government grant.
It also said it would help identify other areas where technology could benefit council.
“This projects aims to develop the smart meter mesh infrastructure as a platform for interconnecting of infrastructure, devices and other assets to send and receive data about aspects of our city,” the report said.
“This proof of concept project will allow council to further investigate other applications of the internet of things, including carbon sensors, smart traffic monitoring, smart bins and smart lighting.”
Some Melbourne municipalities already use technology to monitor car parking.
Cr Moloney said council would also have to look at other ways it could provide free parking for workers to complement the technology.
“I completely recognise and agree we have to do more in that space,” he said.
“We are going to have to make better use as a place for things like Wendouree station a commute option.”
