Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) will undergo a review of its parking strategies to ensure it meets the demands of a growing city.
With the Toowoomba City Centre Parking Strategy endorsed by Council in 2019, TRC Infrastructure Committee Portfolio Lead Cr Melissa Taylor said the time was right to undertake a review.
"A lot has changed over the past few years," Cr Taylor said.
"As part of that Strategy we've rolled out a number of changes in the CBD and with Smart Parking now in place, it's important we revisit the Strategy to make sure we continue to meet the needs of our community.
"Toowoomba City has an established street network but is also a growing city, which creates considerable impacts around traffic flow and parking availability.
"Combined with Toowoomba's growth and development rate, and with an increase in visitors and commercial presence, parking pressures have increased.
"This doesn't just impact the heart of the CBD, as it also creates pressures on the outer area of the City Centre which is why we need to look at what changes may be required.
"As well as a review of the Toowoomba City Centre Parking Strategy, Council will review the Residential Parking Permit of the outer City Centre. In addition to this, we'll work with the schools within the outer City Centre to review parking restrictions, in particular time limits.
"At the end of the day our community and Council want the same thing. We all want a City Centre where visitors, shoppers, workers and businesses have choices that support our community, our liveability and the City's economic viability."
The Toowoomba City Centre Parking Strategy review is scheduled to take place in the 2023/24 financial year with the review of the Residential Parking Permit of the outer City Centre before the end of the 2022/23 financial year.
