Council to consider parking changes after recieving a petition from 34 CBD businesses

Warrnambool City Council on Monday night agreed to consider parking changes after a petition from 34 businesses was tabled.

Councillors passed the item 6 – 0..

Councillor Peter Hulin was absent from the meeting. 

The joint letter was coordinated by Liebig Street trader Max Taylor, from surf shop Taylor’s Surfodesy.

Before the meeting he told The Standard there had been huge development outside the CBD over the past 20 years.

“With so much development, there is plenty of free car parks,” Mr Taylor said.

“In the CBD there has been very little development at all and we have had no free car parking.”

He said the current situation was “extremely unfair”.

He said he had calculated there was over 2200 free car parks available for shoppers outside of the CBD, at sites such as Gateway Plaza and the Homemaker Centre. 

“The CBD hasn’t been travelling well since the global financial crisis,” he said.

“If the council can see the light and provide free 90 minute car parking in the three car parks – Parkers, Ozone and Cramond and Dickson – it will resurrect a lot of life into the CBD. It is so badly needed to get the CBD back on its feet again.”

As part of the CBD revitalisation project, due to begin in February, there is already free 90-minute parking until the end of 2017 in the Parkers car park, east of Liebig Street. The council commitment is part of the business support package developed for the $15 million City Centre Renewal. In accordance with council’s governance meeting procedures local law, the petition or joint letter will be referred to the chief executive for a report at a future council meeting.

The joint letter requests that council address the following actions: