Hotel forced to wait for safer parking policy

Risk to property and its structural integrity not enough to shift councillor opinion.

Clarence Valley Council staff recommended nose in parking outside the Grafton Hotel.

NOSE in or reverse? The debate over the most effective way to park in Grafton CBD looks set to rear its head again.

Clarence Valley Council’s Local Traffic Committee have headed off an attempt by the Grafton Hotel to have council change their parking policy, citing concerns relating to “safety issues”.

The minutes of the meeting, which were endorsed by the Council’s Corporate Governance and Works Committee yesterday, show committee members opted to go against the staff recommendation to introduce nose-in parking on the southern side of Fitzroy Street.

The decision was made to “give Council staff greater time to provide an assessment of all the Grafton CBD carparking”.

“A number of safety issues have been raised relating to parking issues and recommend assessing other options to address the concerns raised,” the LTC recommendation stated.

Council staff recommended proceeding with nose-in parking along this 70m section of Fitzroy St in Grafton.

The issue was brought to council by the Grafton Hotel, who say vehicles are reversing into the columns which support the second storey of the building, which could affect its structural integrity.

The council report states that of the potential solutions investigated, which included protecting the pylons with bollards and installing wheel stops, nose in parking was the most cost effective.

After the area was surveyed and a design developed for 60 degree nose in parking, staff recommended providing line marking and proceeding with the new parking regime.

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