Cr Johnson speaks out on parking plan

CITY of Ballarat North Ward councillor Amy Johnson has criticised elements of the municipality’s new parking plan and called for an independent review of its implementation.

She said there were multiple factors behind her decision including issues with the smartphone app, the complexity of the meters and the affect the new parking rules are having on business in the CBD.

Despite voting for the city’s Smarter Parking Plan in February last year, Cr Johnson now said it’s time to rethink elements of the strategy.

“First and foremost, we need to admit we’ve got this wrong,” she said.

“The rollout of the parking changes are particularly confusing for people in our community. The app is confusing, the new meters are confusing, and it’s discouraging people from frequenting the CBD.

“I supported the changes because I thought there were several positive aspects to them. However, it’s clear now that the confusion and difficulty it’s causing for our residents far outweighs the benefits.”

As a result, Cr Johnson is now calling for an independent investigation into the parking plan rollout.

“I think the people who have developed the current system will be too invested in it to objectively review the issues that our residents are facing,” she said.

As for what the review could look at, Cr Johnson has some ideas.

“Any investigation needs to look into things like is this the best app we can be using?, further opportunities for cash payment and access to a greater number of coin operated machines and better signage explaining the system,” she said.

“We need to look into the cost of carparking, the cost has increased by 50 per cent. I was concerned about the increased cost at the time and it’s clear that many members of our community also have concerns.”

Public feedback on the parking plan has been running hot online since the 3 February launch, with people trending towards negative opinions on the social media pages of council and news outlets.

Cr Johnson said the online commentary echoes the community input she’s received.

“I hear feedback on a daily basis that people are now avoiding the CBD,” she said. “I can only imagine the impact that’s having on businesses in that area of the city.

“The feedback I’ve been receiving from people in the community is that the new parking system is difficult to understand, that the app is difficult to use… and I think it’s concerning that even once people in our own community understand how to use the parking app and the meters, it will always still be very difficult for visitors to our city.”

Early last week a statement from the City of Ballarat said nearly 16,000 transactions had been undertaken part of using the new meters or parking smart phone app, with over 10,000 of them claiming a free hour of parking.

Cr Johnson said while the council statistics, “may be the case”, she’s questioned what that data can be compared to.

“Was there any baseline data collected as far as numbers of people frequenting the city each day?” she said.