Parking fees in Williamstown are not the main deterrent to people visiting Nelson Place, a report to Hobsons Bay council has found.
This was despite traffic analysis showing that more cars parked there during a free parking trial period.
The council in August launched a three-month free parking trial from Mondays to Thursdays at Nelson Place.
An analysis during the free trial found parking space usage jumped from 38 per cent to as high as 66 per cent during the school holidays, after fees were waived.
A report presented at Tuesday night’s council meeting stated surveys undertaken during the trial highlighted that while paid parking was of some concern it was not viewed as the main obstacle to people visiting Nelson Place.
“It was found that the dominant reason why people either did not visit Nelson Place, or would like to see improvement, related to the competitiveness with surrounding areas and retail precincts,” the report stated.
The report recommended that council adopt a Nelson Place Action Plan, compiled by its officers, to improve the shopping precinct. It also wants the council to allocate $250,000 in next year’s budget for the plan’s implementation.
Under the action plan, aspects identified as needing improvement in Nelson Place include the streetscape, businesses activities and marketing.
Varying the time of paid parking and including a small number of short-term free parking spaces have been suggested as part of the plan.
Paid parking in Nelson Place brings in about $800,000 in revenue and $350,000 in fines annually. Hobsons Bay residents are exempt from the $3 per hour parking fee.
