The City of Ballarat's Smarter Parking Plan has rolled out.
The CBD's new parking meters will be a mix of credit card and coin, with the added ability to pay via the CellOPark smartphone app.
Under the plan, motorists will get one hour free parking, per vehicle, per day and be able to park anywhere in the CBD, and move between carparks, within the time period paid for.
To use the meters:
- Enter your registration number at the first meter you find
- If you are going to be less than an hour, you won't have to pay. But you must still enter your registration into the meter
- If you are going to be more than an hour, pay for the time you plan to park. You will only be charged after your first hour of free parking
- Either way you can move your car between different carparks
- You will no longer need to put a ticket on your car
To use the app:
- Search the app store on your smartphone for the CellOPark app and download it.
- You then simply need to add your car's registration number in the app.
- The app will know your location when you park, so you simply press "start" once you've parked and stop just before you leave the park. (If you don't end your session with the free* version of the app, you may be charged for parking time after you have left.)
Disabled parking:
- Disabled parking will remain the same as the current system, with blue permit holders getting unlimited parking and green permit holders getting double time for the amount they pay.
Fees:
The first hour of parking is free and then it will be $3 an hour after that.
If you park in on-street carparks from 9am until 5.30pm, it will cost a maximum of $22.50. However you can choose to park in an off-street carpark for $6.50 per day.
City of Ballarat Councillor Grant Tillett said the Smarter Parking Plan would make parking in the Ballarat CBD more flexible.
"I know this will be a big change for our motorists but I think they will find the system is actually really quite simple to use and will make parking in the CBD far easier," Cr Tillett said.
"We knew we had to find a better parking system in Ballarat to better balance the needs of our residents, workers and shoppers and we think the Smarter Parking Plan achieves the best possible balance for our growing city and our growing CBD."
