Parking in the city Author: LEADER Date: 13/08/2007 Publication: Newcastle Herald
A GRID of mainly residential streets on The Hill will be added to Newcastle's paid parking area this month, and the Newcastle City Council plan that guided this decision opens the way for more meters in Newcastle West and residential Cooks Hill.
Newcastle's first parking meters appeared after World War II. They were taken out in 1993 as a trial to see if free parking helped rejuvenate an ailing city centre, but shop and office workers were accused of hogging the spots and the meters returned in 1996.
From a council administration's point of view, parking meters and ticket machines are an effective way of regulating the scarce commodity that is kerbside space in the city centre and its immediate surrounds, while picking up handy revenue along the way. Drivers understandably detest them even more so when parking police are plentiful enough to make ignoring the law a risky business. Some Newcastle councillors support parking meters. Others don't, but it should be noted that the push for new meters was part of a wider plan that suggested new parking stations and better public transport.
As things stand, Newcastle is more dependent than many cities on the motor vehicle. If getting people out of their cars is a laudable aim and most policymakers argue that it is then alternatives must be provided, and at reasonable cost.
Governments must take the lead if they want people to change their driving habits. Our state and federal politicians need to work with the council to obtain some meaningful funding initiatives, but in the meantime some grass-roots changes could be worth exploring.
The Stockton Ferry is the city's original park-and-ride model, and it works because the ferry runs reliably and often. Bar Beach car park, for one, and any number of large-scale areas standing unused on the city outskirts could be joined to the free Hunter Street government buses with a series of shuttle services. Fares could be abolished or cut dramatically on suburban rail services. Motorists complain about the price of Newcastle parking, but it is worth remembering that the charges compare very favourably with other cities, especially Sydney. Even so, the council should show restraint with its parking prices. Meters and ticket machines can return useful revenue without being cash-cows.
Port police station
ORDINARILY, a State Government pledge to have a new police station operating at Raymond Terrace by 2010 would be welcomed outright. But officers based at the existing cramped and outdated quarters are not the only ones who remember a similar promise from the Carr government in 1996. Back then, the station was said to cost $2.7 million, and funding began with $100,000 for planning. Now, the cost is $10 million with $700,000 for starters.
Understandably, some long-time observers will need more than last week's announcement from Police Minister David Campbell to convince them that this long-overdue station is really on its way.