Permits will be available for Blue Mountains residents, ratepayers, businesses and their employees for FREE parking, when Stage 1 of the Visitor Pay Smart Parking Scheme commences.
Carer Permits will also be available for FREE parking for those who live outside the Blue Mountains and care for a local resident, as well as for contractors who are temporarily working in the Blue Mountains.
Time restricted parking locations already exist in town centres in the Blue Mountains. The activation of smart parking technologies will help manage visitor pay parking and parking turnover in our town centres.
Sensors, parking meters and signage are being installed in town centres at Blackheath, Katoomba, Leura and Wentworth Falls throughout June, in preparation for the Visitor Pay Smart Parking Scheme starting. Sensors only will be installed in Glenbrook town centre in Stage 1, in order to analyse current traffic turnover given its proximity to Penrith.
There will be a 3-month transition period, from 1 July to 30 September 2023, to enable residents, ratepayers, businesses, employees, carers and contractors to apply for FREE parking permits before any compliance activity commences for visitor pay parking. Any driver that overstays in timed restricted parking locations in town centres could continue to be fined during that period and after, as they are now.
The elected Council endorsed the new Citywide Parking Permit Scheme at the May Council Meeting.
Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill, said: "The Blue Mountains World Heritage Area is one of the most visited destinations in the southern hemisphere, but currently most visitors do not contribute to the financial cost of managing the City. This new plan means that visitors will help fund the critically-required renewal of services, facilities and infrastructure including the repair of the road network after natural disasters.
"All permits will be digital and accessible via an online portal, a customer helpline, or with assistance from the Customer Service Centre at Council's Katoomba or Springwood offices.
"Our residents, ratepayers, businesses and employees will not pay for parking. The 3-month transition period will give our community time to access these free permits."
An App, that will also launch for Stage 1 of the scheme, will show real-time parking availability and take payments from visitors only. The pricing structure for visitor paid parking will be finalised by the elected Council at the June Council Meeting. Visitors will be given the option to pay to park for 15-minutes, one hour, or daily at key locations and there will be peak and off-peak periods.
To get more information on permits, as well as town centre maps that show the current time restricted parking locations, go to https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/parking-strategic-plan.
