The City will next week take the first step towards a trial of free 30-minute weekday car parking in two-hour zones in central Geelong.
New technology necessary for the trial is pay-by-plate parking, which will make transactions simpler and easier for customers and ultimately reduce paper waste.
A staged approach will require motorists to enter their vehicle registration details at the parking meter at time of purchase from Monday 1 July.
During this first stage, paper tickets will still be issued and customers will need to display them in their vehicles.
This period will help the City prepare for the introduction of 30-minute free parking in 2P zones in central Geelong from 1 December.
From this time, paper tickets will no longer be issued, with customers only needing to enter their registration details at the meter or through the parking app.
Customers will still be required to enter registration details at meters but there will be no charge for the first half-hour during the year-long trial.
From 1 July to 1 December, the City will collect baseline, de-identified data about length of stays, traffic movement, parking turnover rates and congestion.
This data will be helpful in measuring the success of the 30-minute free parking trial and to inform long-term plans by Council.
Stage one also offers an opportunity for customers to familiarise themselves with the new technology and for any feedback to be considered ahead of going paper free in December.
Customers are assured that the City will use discretion in applying parking infringements during this time, and in the event of errors entering registration details, there will be a process for appeals.
The City is about to go to tender for suitable providers of licence plate recognition technology and a new parking app which will make the customer experience even easier.
Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood
It's exciting to see us moving a step closer to pay-by-plate parking in central Geelong.The benefits of pay-by-plate parking for the community will be significant. From 1 December, customers will not need to return to their vehicles with paper tickets.
There are also important benefits in terms of protecting our environment and being a leader in reducing waste in our city.
Cr Eddy Kontelj, Chair, Transportation and Connections portfolio
I am absolutely thrilled that after years of the community asking for free parking and more equitable parking solutions in the CBD, we are one step closer to delivering this.In my opinion and that of many others, free CBD parking, once fully implemented, will deliver significant positive benefits for our community: for our financially challenged residents, our small business owners, for those who find they have to urgently attend hospital or support loved ones, and for visitors to our CBD.
It will go a long way to progressing and revitalising our magnificent CBD whilst also adopting smart technology, such as pay-by-plate parking, that will enable us to make more informed decisions in the future.
If we want to revitalise Geelong today and not wait 30 years, then we have to try some things. If we want to stimulate activity and make the CBD more vibrant and safer, then we must act now and tell the world we are open for business. If we want to respect and look after our community, particularly our needy and financially strained, then we must put community first every time.
Being clever and creative is not just about a 30-year vison. The community expect more from us.
Being clever and creative in my view is about developing potentially clever ideas and creating opportunities to see them delivered, and not waiting for the opportunity to arrive. Delivering free CBD parking in Geelong before Christmas this year has the potential to do just that. These are exciting times.
