Southern Grampians Shire Council has announced it will begin installing 17 new next-generation parking meters in Hamilton’s CBD mid-December.
The new solar-powered and paperless 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.
Council 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 the new solar-powered and paperless meters 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 said.