Parking plan gets into gear

A LONG-TERM plan to guide parking policies in Geelong’s city centre is open for public feedback.

The City of Greater Geelong has released a draft Central Geelong Parking Strategy, and it wants input from a range of stakeholders before finalising the plan.

Initiatives part of the strategy include a “precinct-based approach” to prioritise users based on location, adjustable pricing and time restrictions, encouraging shared parking in new developments, explore partnerships to deliver multi-storey facilities and improving public transport.

Councillors endorsed the draft strategy for public exhibition in November, and voted for consultation to last six weeks and the Christmas period to allow for maximum engagement during the current consultation round.

The city has since scrapped a policy that provided a second hour free in city parking spaces as part of its proposed 2023/24 budget and discontinued its “park and ride” service in May.

The city said this draft of the strategy was formed following a survey of more than 2,500 community members and consultation with healthcare, education, retail, commercial and hospitality sectors.

“As our population grows, we need effective, sustainable, and inclusive parking services. Addressing issues such as parking and traffic congestion will be critical for ensuring we maintain a high-level of liveability in our city,” Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan said.

“Balancing competing interests, keeping plenty of open space and also looking at how we can change our parking and travel behaviours are complex issues we need to address in our city centre.”

As part of its engagement, the city will host drop-in information sessions at its Wurriki Nyal Civic Precinct on Wednesday, June 7 and June 17.

It will also have staff available to discuss the strategy at Westfield Shopping Centre on June 21 and June 28.

For more details or to submit feedback, head to yoursay.geelongaustralia.com.au/cgps

Submissions are open until July 2.