PAY TO PARK Author: By MICHELE TYDD Date: 08/10/2007 Publication: Illawarra Mercury Section: News Page: 1
PARKING meters in Wollongong CBD and popular tourist areas were inevitable, a Wollongong councillor said yesterday.
Dave Martin predicted meters would get the nod within six to 12 months and could be up and running in a year, to manage inner city and tourist location parking.
"It's not about revenue because meters are revenue neutral, it is about turnover and sharing the available spaces," he said.
Tourism Wollongong chairman Jim Eddy agreed that meters, particularly for the foreshore, were inevitable.
The concept was cut from a council plan to improve traffic conditions in November last year but it is back on the agenda after councillors were briefed by a traffic flow consultant recently. A report on meters and resident parking schemes is expected to go to the council soon.
Cr Martin said councillors were told at the briefing the only alternative to meters were multi-level car parking stations.
"We'll build some but it would be impossible to meet the full parking demand without sending the city broke," he said.
"I think meters are inevitable as we grow and take on the characteristics of a major city, just as Sydney and its suburbs did."
Cr Martin said there would be initial reluctance to the idea but it was part of a wider strategy to keep workers on the city's periphery to improve access to the city centre.
"It would be counter-productive not to install meters because we will just lose business to major suburban shopping complexes."
Cr Martin said the need was just as strong in the tourist locations to cater for the large crowds on weekends.
"The technology is flexible these days to allow for longer stays before meters need to be replenished."
Mr Eddy agreed the meters were inevitable for the premium tourist areas in Wollongong, particularly along the foreshore.
"There is too much free access in Wollongong with things like pools and parking.
"The revenue is needed to maintain and improve what we have and tourists don't mind - they are more discerning these days and are sophisticated enough to know that that is part of life," he said.
Mr Eddy said while the CBD was not his area of expertise, he supported meters there too.
"It is becoming more and more congested with parking at a premium," he said.
"People whinge when these things are introduced but they move on."
Cr David Brown said while he was not convinced people were ready for meters in the CBD he believed a case could be made to support them for the tourist areas.
But he said he wanted a comprehensive debate before any decision was made.
"This can only be done with a firm proposal on sites and fees on the table ... it is very hard to debate this on a theoretical level," he said.