Geoff Pitt told The Courier that the set-up was a difficult one for some of Ballarat's pensioners to negotiate.

"A lot of our older people do not have cards and they don't own a mobile phone," he said.

"It's not as if [the coin meters] are right next door. They're half a block away."

According to the council's website, around two thirds of the parking meters are "tap only", which means they are only available to those with cards.

While several meters around the Eastwood Street car park near the Senior Citizens Club will be coin operated, the majority of those around the CBD are card only.

On social media this week, the Ballarat Integrated Health Centre also lamented the lack of coin-operated machines.

A map published by the City of Ballarat showed around 45 meters can be used by both card holders and those wishing to pay by coin.

The Courier understands all the meters installed in Warrnambool, which introduced the same smarter parking system as used in Ballarat two years ago, accept coins.

METERS MAP (you may need to zoom in):

Coin payments are also understood to be widely available under the City of Greater Geelong's new parking system.

"[City of Ballarat] should have used their noggins and put them all together," said Mr Pitt. "It's common sense."

The Senior Citizens Club has had its own issues with the new council's smarter parking scheme.

Under the old system, the club had 17 car parks allocated to the centre which were free to members.

After extended correspondence, it looked likely members' permits would no longer be valid, putting the future attendance of some members in doubt.

The issue was highlighted in The Courier, as well as in a letter sent by federal member for Ballarat Catherine King, who said the changes should be scrapped if members could not be reassured.

Last week, the City of Ballarat backtracked on its previous stance, confirming that 17 car parks would still be allocated to the centre under the new system.

New permits will entitle members to free parking in the spaces between 9am and 3.30pm. They will be limited to a specific vehicle registration.

Mr Pitt told The Courier he was very grateful to everybody who had supported the centre's concerns.

"If [council] weren't going to give us our [space] back, it would have nearly closed the club," he said.

The new parking system was launched this month, with the installation of the new meters around the CBD expected to be complete by the beginning of next week.

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