Themba Bulle proposes free parking plan for Burnie CBD – The Advocate

The first hour of parking in the Burnie central business district would be free under a plan proposed by councillor Themba Bulle. Cr Bulle said the proposal would reduce the financial burden on ratepayers and encourage more people to shop in Burnie rather than travelling to other towns that offer free parking, such as Ulverstone. He said providing a one-hour limit would ensure people do not „abuse” the system and park outside a business for free for hours on end. „The whole idea is to boost the town, get more people coming into town and coming to spend,” Cr Bulle said. RELATED: Free parking has long been debated in Burnie with some residents and retailer arguing the paid system has a negative impact on the city. But Cr Bulle’s proposal would take a significant toll on Burnie City Council’s budget with paid parking set to deliver a $573,000 boost to the bottom line in 2019/20 after operating expenses. Acting general manager Gary Neil said parking revenue would likely drop by two thirds or $1.056 million a year if the one-hour free policy was introduced. „Parking could then become a cost to council in the order of some $544,000 per annum,” he wrote in response to Cr Bulle’s motion. Mr Neil said those figures were based on a „crude calculation” that the average length of stay was 1.5 hours and it was „difficult to estimate” the full impact of the policy without „more specific details for operation”. He said the cost to manage the parking system would be unlikely to drop and there would be logistical challenges implementing the policy using the current ticket machines. Cr Bulle was surprised by the „substantial” cost but said it was something the public wanted. „If we’re going to have a financial management strategy, these are the types of things we should be able to talk about,” he said. The one-hour free parking policy will be debated at the Burnie City Council meeting on Tuesday along with a motion from Teeny Brumby to explore the provision of caravan parking spots in the CBD. Cr Brumby said she had seen „numerous cars towing a caravan trailing through our CBD looking for a place to stop without any success”. „If they are to stop and enjoy our beautiful city it’s important provision is made for them to access our CBD,” she wrote in a motion to council. Mr Neil said it would be challenging to find spaces in the CBD large enough to accommodate caravans and there were already long-vehicle parking provisions at South Burnie Beach. While you’re with us, did you know that you can now sign up to receive breaking news updates and daily headlines direct to your inbox? Sign up here.