Despite parking chaos as the City of Ballarat's new regime kicks in this week, there's some good news - 170 new free all day parks next to Eastern Oval are now open.
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The project had its delays, and its cost went over budget by $100,000 due to "unsuitable soil", but the space could be good news for inner-city workers stressing about paying $22.50 to park each day.
The Scott Parade car park, near the Davies Street underpass, was supported by the state government, as part of the program to replace parks lost to the GovHub project, but is separate to the 1000 free car parks promised at the state election.
WOULD YOU PARK AT EASTERN OVAL? HAVE YOUR SAY BELOW
There is still no word on where these 1000 free car parks will be installed.
The Eastern Oval car park opened on Tuesday, and was announced as part of a live question and answer session from the City of Ballarat on Facebook.
Mayor Ben Taylor and regulatory services executive manager Amy Boyd got through about 75 questions from the public about parking, from assurances about disability parking - nothing will change and officers will inspect permits on foot - to how the free hour of parking is used - right now, it cannot be spaced throughout the day.
Importantly, the rollout of parking meters is still not complete, and is expected to be finished by February 17.
A colour coded map, showing which meters are card-only and which have coin and card capabilities, will be issued when installation is finished.
Cr Taylor said there had "been a delay in customs" in the delivery of the machines.
He said already, thousands of people had used their "free hour" in the CBD, but admitted there were some teething problems.
A credit card surcharge of 2.5 per cent affected some of the first people trying to use parking meters, but that issue had been fixed.
"We found out straight away," he said.
"Previously, council covered the surcharge, but it hadn't been carried across."
There are also still issues regarding short-term, 10 minute parks, especially around schools, loading zones, and hotels, but in the video Cr Taylor and Ms Boyd said they would be worked out over time.
Ms Boyd said in the video repeatedly she was confident the system was flexible enough for it to be reviewed and changed.
"The plan is meant to adapt with growth, it's anticipated... that areas that traditionally have not been impacted by parking might begin to feel some parking stress, but we can now monitor areas and use data for informed decisions," she said.
The video also explained several other concerns - council workers in the CBD still have to pay for parking, for example; off-street parking areas are still open on Peel Street, Armstrong Street, and Anderson Street; and the free timed car parks at Big W, Delacombe Town Centre, and Stockland Wendouree would remain free, as council does not own the land.
The Creswick Road car park, which costs $6.50 a day, is beginning to attract more customers, and Cr Taylor said council would pay attention to improving "paths and lighting" to make it a safer area.
It's part of the same program as the Eastern Oval car park, according to a Regional Development Victoria spokesperson.
"As part of our investment in the Ballarat GovHub Project, we funded the council $2 million to develop 1,000 public car parks within 500 meters of the development site to replace the 275 public car parks removed when construction commenced," they said in a statement.
"The Creswick Road public car park was the first of these car parks to be developed. The council will now move onto other locations in the CBD to develop the remaining public car parks."
Cr Taylor said early feedback kept him optimistic about the plan.
"As the city's growing, we've got to be proactive to address parking issues," he said.
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