Much has already been discussed about the City of Ballarat’s new proposed parking plan revealed on Monday.
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Council released a revised parking strategy to combat the issue of worker’s cars creeping further into residential areas whilst quelling the vocal outcry of concerned workers.
The new strategy is a far cry from the initial plan revealed in May 2018 which proposed 10 minutes free parking and $2 an hour fees for parking in the CBD from 9am – 7pm.
After these initial proposals were released, council called upon the public to answer questions with their thoughts on the proposal.
One of the areas roundly rejected by residents was increasing the cost of parking within the CBD. The responses surrounded the issues of the possibility businesses may be hurt by driving away shoppers, as well as general complaints about the cost and concerns about parking for workers.
Another area which was roundly rebuffed was the possibility of extending parking restrictions from 5.30pm to 7pm, with over 90 per cent of the 1375 respondents saying they would not support the change as they felt it would discourage people travelling into the city during the evening and force further crowding in residential areas.
More contentious issues included using smart phones to be able to pay your parking fees and adding two hours of free parking throughout Zone 2 and Zone 3 areas.
Some said they would only support the use of a payment app if it ran in conjunction with traditional methods of payment such as coins and credit cards.
A large proportion of respondents were in favour of providing parking permits to residents and implementing the ability to extend your parking from any meter in the CBD, sighting greater flexibility and convenience.
