The City of Greater
Geelong has decided to offer permit holders in City-owned CBD off-street car
parks the opportunity to suspend their permits if they are not using them.
With many CBD workers now working from home, it’s been agreed that permit
holders should not have to continue to pay for car parks they don’t currently
need.
Permit holders in the Civic Centre, Busport, Wesley and Haymarket car parks
will be contacted in the coming days and offered the chance to suspend payment from
1 April without losing their space.
Those who have already paid for the month of April will have the option to
receive a credit on their account.
The measure is a response to community feedback and comes on the back ofcouncil’s decision on Tuesday 24 March to make all metered parking in the CBD free
until 30 June.
This came into effect on 26 March and applies to:
- 2P, 3P and 4P on street parking;
and - 2P, 3P, 4P and all day casual
off street parking.
The key aim of free parking in metered
spaces is to eliminate the need for members of the community to touch parking
meters – helping to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Time limits in these spaces still apply as a means of encouraging turnover and
allowing visitors to the CBD easy access to essential services.
Councillors and City of Greater Geelong staff are continuing to work on short-
and medium/long-term support packages for businesses and the community, with
the full short-term package to be announced in April.
The medium/long-term package will be presented to the council in June.
Mayor Stephanie Asher:
The support measures announced on Tuesday night were well received, but a
consistent piece of feedback was that people wanted to be able to suspend their
permits for council’s off-street car parks.During our workshop last night, councillors and senior staff all agreed that this
was a very reasonable request that could be put into action straight away.
