One-hour parking locations in Blackheath, Katoomba, Leura and Wentworth Falls town centres will be extended to two-hour zones, early in the New Year.
Stage 2 sites already activated at Cahill's Lookout, Katoomba and Gordon Falls at Leura will move to 12-hour zones.
Meanwhile the following Stage 3 sites, currently being activated, will also move to 12-hour zones:
- Blackheath Memorial Park, Blackheath
- Narrow Neck Lookout, Katoomba
- Katoomba Falls off-street parking areas, adjacent to Cliff View Lookout and Katoomba Cascades
- Sublime Point, Leura
- Knapsack Viaduct Carpark, Glenbrook
Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill, said: "New time limits have to be endorsed by the Local Traffic Committee which includes representatives from Council, Transport for NSW and Police - so we do have a process to go through to make these changes.
"Rest assured, Council is listening to our community in relation to the Citywide Visitor Paid Parking Scheme. We do not want this scheme to disadvantage our community. What we want is for visitors to contribute to the costs of running this City. This includes the critical renewal of infrastructure after multiple natural disasters."
Blue Mountains City Council CEO, Dr Rosemary Dillon, said: "Without visitor paid parking revenue, we would need to apply to increase rates for our residents in order to fund disaster recovery and other critical infrastructure upgrades, as well as service delivery. This is something we really do not want to do."
The new time zones means that our community, and visitors, can stay at these locations for longer periods, without any fear of being fined for overstaying.
Visitors also have the option of buying a day pass, which is considerably cheaper if staying for long periods, or visiting multiple locations in the City.
Paid parking at Lincoln's Rock, activated in July 2023, will remain at 2-hours due to the high volume of visitors and the need to turn over traffic regularly.
Wentworth Falls Lake, at Wentworth Falls, will have 4- and 8-hour parking zones introduced - to cater for the different types of visitors who frequently visit the precinct.
Raymond Road at Katoomba will remain at 8-hour time restrictions, so that it is line with the Echo Point Precinct.
Almost 90% of residents have signed up for permits, to park for free.
Residents, ratepayers, businesses, employees and carers in the Blue Mountains who have not yet applied for a permit are urged to do so, now that the grace registration period has ended.
Rangers are issuing warnings to those who have not paid to park where visitor paid parking applies in the Blue Mountains. Illegal parking, including exceeding existing time limits, will continue to incur fines. The new time zones make this less of an issue, particularly for residents who are wanting to park for longer in town centres, or key visitation areas.
- Apply for a permit online. Go to bmcc.nsw.gov.au/parking and click on 'Apply for a Parking Permit' to start.
- Call the Permit Hotline 1300 322 263 for assistance.
- Visit one of our Customer Contact Centres in Katoomba or Springwood. Please bring vehicle registration papers when visiting our Customer Contact Centres.
Get more information on how to apply for permits. Go to bmcc.nsw.gov.au/parking-permits for more. Information on how visitors pay to park is available on Council's website at: bmcc.nsw.gov.au/pay-to-park.
