The Blue Mountains community is being asked to have their say on the Draft Parking Strategic Plan 2022.
The Draft Parking Strategic Plan 2022 is an update of the 2018 Citywide Parking Strategic Plan to align with the Community Strategic Plan 2035, developed in consultation with the community. It has also been informed by the Blue Mountains Integrated Transport Strategic Plan, the Blue Mountains Visitor Infrastructure Investment Strategic Plan and Council's adopted and draft Town and Village Masterplans.
The update aligns transport planning for our City with our planetary health, sustainability and resilience objectives in light of the recent and future challenges posed by climate change and anticipated increase in visitation following international COVID-10 lockdowns.
"This Strategy provides a strategic framework to improve traffic and transport functionality across the City, including a paid parking scheme that manages traffic demand and congestion whilst providing revenue for visitor and resident infrastructure," Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill said.
Last month, Council asked the community if they agreed visitors should pay to park in the Blue Mountains to help fund services, facilities and infrastructure. Under the proposal, residents or people that run businesses or work in the Blue Mountains would not have to pay for parking, they would only have to adhere to time regulations to ensure the turnover of parking in these locations.
The revenue raised would help fund the critically-required renewal of services, facilities and infrastructure, including repair of the road network, in the Blue Mountains.
It is proposed that paid parking would initially be activated in 2023 in town and village centres where there is existing regulated timed parking. This includes towns or village centres like Blackheath, Katoomba, Leura, Wentworth Falls, Lawson, Hazelbrook, Springwood, Blaxland, Glenbrook, as well as Echo Point.
The Draft Parking Strategic Plan 2022 now outlines priority visitor destinations within the City, where paid parking could be implemented next. This includes:
- Wentworth Falls Lookout, Falls Road
- Wentworth Falls Lake
- Conservation Hut, Wentworth Falls
- Echo Point precinct, Katoomba
- Cahill's Lookout, Katoomba
- Katoomba Falls, Katoomba
- Leura Cascades
- Lincoln's Rock, Wentworth Falls
- Gordon Falls, Leura
- Boars Head Lookout, Katoomba.
As outlined in the Draft Parking Strategic Plan 2022, the third stage of this process will be to develop a Parking Precincts Plan which would outline where any new parking facilities were proposed for key towns and visitor destinations.
"It's become very clear after multiple natural disasters, and unprecedented rainfall, that our ageing infrastructure was not built to withstand the effects of climate change," Mayor Greenhill said.
"A Citywide Visitor Paid Parking Scheme, where visitors to the City pay to park but local residents and businesses do not, will help generate the income that our City needs without further burdening ratepayers."
Read the Draft Parking Strategic Plan 2022
You can have your say about the Draft Parking Strategic Plan until 20 January 2023.
Feedback received during this stage of consultation, as well as feedback received during stage one, will be reported to the Council in February 2023.
