FREE parking time in part of Albany Highway will double to 60 minutes while the cost to park nearby will halve in a test of shoppers’ attitudes to East Victoria Park parking restrictions.
The changes are the key components of a six-month trial due to begin in two weeks involving just two blocks of the highway strip south of The Park Centre.
Anecdotal evidence and popular opinion suggests parking restrictions discourage people from the strip, affecting local businesses.
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READ NOWCouncil deals with questions about parking problems
Shoppers will be given 60 minutes free parking between Basingall Street and Canterbury Street throughout the trial, although not in peak lunch and dinner times. The free period then will revert to 30 minutes.
Between Canterbury and Westminster streets paid parking at times will be as cheap as $1.10 per hour, instead of the standard $2.20 fee.
The trial comes on the back of Albany Highway parking being free on Sundays throughout January, which was another attempt to encourage greater use of the strip.
Town of Victoria Park Deputy Mayor Vicki Potter said the council would review hotspots in its parking management plan every two years.
“We expect testing changes in price and time variables during this six-month trial will give us a good amount of data and customer feedback, so we can consider any worthwhile amendments to the plan into the future,” she said.
However the council decided last month not to trial what would happen if they increased the hourly charge or reduced free parking from 30 minutes to 15 minutes in peak periods.
Cr Karen Vernon, who has led the push for the trial and free Sunday parking, said the experiment was always intended to provide strategic support for local businesses, which would be counteracted had the council tested higher charges and less free time.
Town of Victoria Park officers estimated the trial would cost the council about $50,000, a figure based on actual costs such as ticket machine changes and less revenue from tickets and infringements.
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