CityHeart shoppers to benefit from free meter parking on Saturdays

Hamilton's kerbside meter parking in the central city is to be free of charge on Saturdays on a trial basis until early next year.

Council has decided to introduce the free parking trial as recognition of the inconvenience that maybe caused for some people during CityHeart revitalisation work. Council is also committed to supporting a vibrant and busy CityHeart and is prepared to try new initiatives to achieve this.

Council decided to approve the trial at a Council meeting last Wednesday night. The free parking will be available from this coming weekend (15 November).

Parking manager Janice Burns says because the trial is designed to bring more people into the CityHeart the time limits on the parking meters will still be enforced.

"While there is no charge to park at the meters on Saturdays, the idea is still to have regular turnover of spaces, so in order to achieve this we will continue to enforce the time limits that apply to meters … in most cases this is one hour."

The trial will mean there is no charge for parking meters in the central city on Saturdays or Sundays.

In combination with the free parking, Council will be monitoring vehicle movements in the central city along with the turn over of spaces to help assess the effectiveness of the trial.

It is estimated that Council will be giving up approximately $8,000 in revenue a day by making parking meters free for Saturdays.

Mayor Bob Simcock says ensuring the vibrancy of the CityHeart is a high priority for Council.

"I believe we have already sent a strong signal to the Hamilton community through our consultation and with the plans for the CityHeart redevelopment that the centre of the city is very important. We are hoping that the free parking trial is seen as part of that commitment.