New parking rules in force from tomorrow

FROM Monday, 3 February the rubber hits the road on the City of Ballarat’s Smarter Parking Plan as new technology is switched on and the summer of free parking comes to an end.

So with that in mind, here’s some key things you need to know to avoid those dreaded parking tickets.

The city will essentially broken up into two types of parking areas: paid and free.

The paid areas are in the downtown core and some mean some places that didn’t previously have paid on-street parking now attract a fee.

They include but are not limited to Sturt Street between Peel and Talbot streets, Mair Street between Peel and Ascot streets, Dana Street between Grenville and Dawson streets. Most cross streets in between the Sturt Street and Mair Street paid parking areas, streets west of Ballarat Station and some streets in the Bakery Hill area.

On-street parking in Zone 1 will be free for the first hour and $3 per hour with no time restrictions after that, capped at $22.50 per day.

There are some off-street locations that didn’t used cost to park, but now do, like the Little Bridge Street carpark, where the first two hours will be free then it’s $3 per hour.

Costs for other off street parking options include the Andersen Street off-street carpark – first hour free, then $3 per hour, capped at $6.50 with no time restriction, Doveton Street South off-street carpark – first hour free, then $3 per hour and no time restriction and the new Creswick Road carpark, which once again is first hour free, then $3 per hour, capped at $6.50 and again there’s no time restriction.

The Big-W carpark is still free, and limited to two hours, although this is not a municipal run site.

In Zone Two, which is essentially the rest of the municipality, signed parking restrictions apply. So if you’re a two hour limit space, you can only park for two hours before you risk getting booked.

The best advice is that if you want to keep parking in the same area once the time limit is up, leave the space, drive around the block, and if the parking sport you left is still available, you can reoccupy it. If the one next to it is available, you can take that one. The point is you just need to leave the area to avoid a fine.

Paid parking in Zone one will apply Monday to Saturday unless otherwise signed, as will parking restrictions outside that area.

There are new ways to pay for parking in Ballarat. While you can still use coins or card to pay at a machine, there’s also now a smartphone app option called CellOPark. It’s available from app stores on relevant phones and there’s also a premium version with a monthly subscription fee but extra features.

If paying at a machine the key thing to remember is you’ll need to know your car’s registration. Gone is the hodgepodge of parking meters, displayed tickets and knowing what space your car is located in. You now need to pop in your rego while paying at the machine and the information is recorded in the system.

If you need to top up your paid parking, you don’t need to do it from the machine you started at, you can top up at any meter across the city.