A range of
initiatives aimed at creating a more efficient and dynamic car parking system
in central Geelong will take effect from Monday.
The City is
introducing innovations such as a free parking trial in two-hour zones, a new
pay-by-phone application, pay-by-plate methodology and licence plate
recognition.
From Monday,
motorists in central Geelong will have access to:
- A ticketless parking system,
which removes the need to display tickets in your vehicle and eliminates
more than two million paper tickets annually; - A free 30-minute period in
two-hour parking zones on weekdays (effectively providing a minimum 25 per
cent discount); - An award-winning parking app by
leading provider EasyPark.
The creation of
a ticketless system follows the adoption of licence plate recognition (LPR)
technology.
While tickets
have been removed from meters, printed receipts will remain available.
If motorists
need to check how much time remains on their parking session, they can input
their vehicle registration into any City meter in central Geelong.
The LPR
technology also shifts the City’s existing manual monitoring to a digital
environment.
It will create
a safer and more efficient process for City employees, who won’t have to walk
from car to car to view tickets.
The new system
will identify via the licence plate data if a vehicle has paid or overstayed in
the parking bay.
Reviewing
licence plate details to monitor parking turnover is a long-established and
legal process.
Similar
technology is being used in numerous cities overseas and in Australia,
including Melbourne, Warrnambool, Brisbane, Byron Bay and Gold Coast.
The LPR
technology also allows us to effectively introduce a free parking trial in
central Geelong two-hour zones from Monday.
The trial takes
effect only in 2P zones, as it aims to encourage a higher number of short-term
visitors to central Geelong.
Motorists will
choose the total time they plan to stay, via a parking meter or app, and the
system will automatically reduce the fee by 30 minutes.
The City is
also providing more payment options for motorists through the introduction of
the EasyPark app.
Used in more
than 1300 cities across 15 countries, the EasyPark app allows users to bypass
the parking meter and conduct remote up-to-the-minute transactions.
Motorists will
also be able to transfer parking fee credit to another parking bay within the
same central Geelong parking zone.
