Parking meters on way

WOLLONGONG City Council's three administrators approved the roll-out of 850 parking meters without a murmur from the public gallery last night.

Public, political and business opposition did little to sway administrators Col Gellatly, Robert McGregor and Gabrielle Kibble who approved the plan to roll out the parking meters on more than half of all inner city on-street spots within 12 months.

The motion passed without debate in the council chamber and without comment from the administrators.

Consequently, from early next year, visitors to Wollongong who want to park in most on-street spots will be forced to pay a flat $2 fee for either half, one or two hours depending on their location.

Before the council's March 2008 sacking, some councillors considered an expansive parking meter roll-out to be political suicide. But free of political concerns, the administrators endorsed the plan.

Asked whether their unelected-status had freed their hand to make the decision, the three in chorus answered "yes", during the post-meeting press conference.

Few residents were there to hear the decision, with only 15 people scattered around the chamber.

It reflected a relative indifference to the parking meter plan which attracted a paltry 150 submissions.

Of these, 74 per cent objected to parking meters, however none could suggest a viable alternative. A traffic crisis looms due to a predicted 80 per cent increase in traffic volumes and a 7500 parking space shortfall by 2026.

Parking meters was the lynchpin of the council's plan to tackle this problem, along with the construction of more parking stations and cycleways, better footpaths, and an increase in the number of no-parking and 15-minute short stay spots.