Potential changes to the City of Bunbury's paid parking strategy were tabled during Tuesday night's council meeting.
The executive recommendation requested City of Bunbury chief executive officer Mal Osborne to prepare a report outlining the city’s parking strategy by March 31, 2019.
The report will focus on traffic and planning movement, future parking needs, investment in parking infrastructure, and new technologies.
Parking arrangements expected to continue include:
- No time limits on Sundays and public holidays;
- Providing existing 15-minute and 30-minute free areas without a ticket;
- Paystay for on-street parking;
- Two hours free on-street parking with a ticket required; and
- A three-hour free parking limit in all visitor shopping centre car parks.
“We’ve reworded it today to make it absolutely crystal clear that those arrangements will stay in place for the shopping and on-street car parks,” Mr Osborne said.
If approved, the plan would also implement number plate registration technology for all ticket machines in visitor shopper car parks.
The recommendation also sighted the necessity of starting a marketing plan to improve directional parking signage and city promotional signage.
The plan called for all changes to parking arrangements to be applied before or on October 31, 2018.
Ideas including the installation of boomgates were discussed by the council during Tuesday’s meeting.
City of Bunbury Mayor Gary Brennan revealed maintenance for the ticket machines was costing the city around $60,000 to $80,000 per year.
Through the current strategy, around $800,000 – $900,000 was lost in the last financial year.
A CBD parking strategy for Bunbury was first launched in 2007, featuring free two-hour visitor/shopper parks and fixed, low-cost parks around the fringes of the CBD.
A CBD experience survey was implemented in March 2017, with many responses viewing the CBD’s parking strategy as being detrimental to businesses in the area.
Changes to the CBD’s parking strategy were approved by the council in June 2017, kicking off a 12-month trial.
The council will vote for or against the new recommendations on Tuesday, October 2.
Read more: