Southern Grampians Shire Council will begin installing 17 new next-generation parking meters in Hamilton’s CBD mid-December.
The new parking meters will be installed along Gray Street (seven meters), Thompson Street (six) and Brown Street (four). It is anticipated the meters will be operational by January 2024.
Users will be able to pay for their parking by tapping a bank card/pre-paid debit card or using a phone app, which means there will be no requirement to display a ticket on the vehicle dashboard and cars can be moved multiple times in the CBD during the paid period.
Acting CEO Rory Neeson said parking would be free in the CBD while the new meters were installed however, time limits still apply.
“In the new year, Council will roll out an educational campaign about how to use the new parking meters and will provide a clear date when drivers will need to start paying for parking again using the new and old meters,” he said.
“We now have a sample parking meter at Council’s customer service centre in Brown Street so people can take a look and see how easy it is to use.”
Mr Neeson said because the new parking meters were solar powered and paperless, they demonstrated Council’s commitment to introducing new technology to the community that is operated sustainably.
“The new infrastructure will also release council’s local laws staff from patrolling these particular parking bays; allowing them to dedicate time to other community safety matters,” he added.
The installation schedule for the new parking meters had been designed so there will be minimal impact to pedestrians, traffic, and businesses.
Another significant change in Hamilton’s CBD is the new parking time restrictions in Brown Street between French and Martin streets. There will now be two-hour and four-hour parking along this stretch of road, with free all-day parking closer to the bus/train station.
“We received feedback that vehicles were parking for extended periods of time in this section of Brown Street, which caused issues for both local residents and local business,” said Mr Neeson.
“Council consulted with impacted residents and business operators and came up with a solution to introduce two and four-hour parking restrictions to encourage shorter parking times.
“We encourage people to familiarise themselves with the new time limits and advise that our local laws officers will be closely monitoring compliance over the coming months.”
