Council has called a Special Meeting at City Hall tomorrow night (Thursday 4 July) to discuss on-street car parking fees in central Geelong.
Beginning at 7pm, the meeting will be open to the public and live streamed via www.geelongaustralia.com.au/meetings.
Mayor Bruce Harwood has called the Special Meeting on behalf of all councillors in response to community concern over price increases for all-day, 3-hour and 4-hour capped on street parking in the CBD.
The report to be discussed by council acknowledges that several price rises in the 2019-20 budget were unintentionally not exhibited to the community.
These include:
- Capped all-day on-street parking from $5.80 to $13;
- 3-hour parking capped from $5.80 to $7;
- 4-hour parking capped from $3.50 to $8; and
- 4-hour parking capped (high occupancy) from $5.80 to $9.
The report by City of Greater Geelong officers states that, "As consultation did not occur, it is appropriate that council seek to implement actions that restore faith in the process."
Under the Local Government Act, the Mayor or at least three councillors may call a special meeting to discuss a specific issue.
The agenda for tomorrow night's meeting is available now.
Mayor Bruce Harwood:
Council acknowledges the angst in our community caused by the rise in parking fees in central Geelong.While the intention of the changes was to bring parity to parking prices, the community was not properly informed and the implementation was flawed.
We are looking forward to meeting tomorrow night to decide how we will address this situation.
Councillor Stephanie Asher, Chair, Strategy and Communications portfolio:
The council is very much united on this issue and we felt it was important to meet as soon as possible to find a solution.We encourage the community to tune in via the live stream to hear what we have to say and witness the outcome.
