The City of Ballarat's Smarter Parking Plan Phase 2 roll out will begin on December 1, with current CBD parking meters starting to be removed and new infrastructure installed.
Parking meters that take coins and credit cards, along with a Smartphone app, will switch on in February 2020.
Clearly marked number plate recognition vehicles will start operating across the municipality in December.
While the roll out takes place, CBD off-street parking will be free from December 1 to January 31, although time limits will still apply.
City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Ben Taylor said the roll out had been planned to be in as short a time frame as possible to avoid too much CBD disruption.
"We plan to switch off all of our CBD parking meters from December 1 ahead of their removal so over the busy Christmas shopping period, CBD parking will be free," Cr Taylor said.
"Obviously time limits will still apply but we felt this was the best way to try and avoid as little disruption as possible during this time of year and give our residents a bit of a Christmas gift to help them through the holiday season.
"You will notice new parking meters starting to pop up as well and I just want to reassure all residents that they will still be able to use coins or credit cards in these meters or alternatively you can use a really simple and easy to use phone app.
"We know the Smarter Parking Plan will better balance the needs of residents, shoppers and workers in the CBD - it will make parking easier and more flexible."
Key elements of the Smarter Parking Plan infrastructure include:
- You will pay only for the time you actually use
- You will get one hour free, per vehicle, per day
- No more tickets
- No more having to go back to your car - you can top up at any meter
- The phone app is free to download
"Currently over 70% of motorists stay for less than two hours, so the new system will actually cost less for many people because the first hour will be free and every hour after that just $3," Cr Taylor said.
"We also have numerous different meters in action at the moment, including tickets, numbered bays and coin only machines, which are all ageing and reporting around 100 faults a week so it is about time we replaced them."
