More free parking announced

THE City of Ballarat is making the new Creswick Road carpark free to use until the end of January from today.

With 300 spaces, the new facility, which was developed as a replacement for lost spots at Civic Hall, has been underutilised since opening on 8 November.

Free parking at the site is part of a wider effort not to change for parking while the municipality undertakes elements of the second stage of the Smarter Parking Plan.

That involves no cost on street parking across the city while meters and ticket machines are replaced a head of the rollout of new technology early next year.

Citywide free parking begins on 1 December and runs until 31 January 2020. While there’ll be no cost to park, existing time limits will still apply, and council by-laws officers will still be issuing infringements for overstayers.

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Ben Taylor said free parking at the new Creswick Road space would be a good way of getting people accustomed to using the site.

“Once people realise how easy it is to park there and quickly get to the Ballarat Railway Station or the central Ballarat Library then we think it will get more car movement through the car park,” he said.