Kingborough Council to vote on proposed introduction of paid all-day parking in central Kingston

All-day parking in the Kingston CBD could soon come at a cost.

Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

COMMUTERS may soon have to start paying for all-day parking in the CBD area of a southern Hobart town.

In a bid to discourage all-day parking and encourage commuters to Hobart to use park-and-ride facilities, Kingborough Council will vote on Monday night on a proposal to introduce paid parking in an area of central Kingston.

Early this year, the developers of the Kingston Park residential subdivision, Traders in Purple, were due to begin construction of stage one, which will remove about 170 parking spaces from the area.

To offset this loss, the council has built a parking area with 150 spaces within Kingston Park, and now the council must decide whether to charge for parking there.

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A report to be presented to councillors at their first meeting of the year on Monday night recommends paid parking be introduced at this location “as soon as possible.”

Council officers have proposed the first three hours of parking be free to cater to those dropping into the community hub and playground, which is due to be built this year.

All-day parking in the Kingston CBD may no longer be free. Picture: Dean Winter

A $5 payment would apply for any stay longer than three hours.

“Free parking penalises people who use public transport and other alternative modes, which are a more sustainable means of transport,” the report said.

“There is limited available land within the [Kingborough] CBD for council to provide new parking areas.

“Therefore, there is a need to reduce the demand for long-term parking within the Kingston CBD area and encourage alternative forms of transport. Free all-day parking should only be available on the fringes of the CBD.

“Commuters to Hobart should park in designated park-and-ride facilities such as at Huntingfield and any commuter parking within the Kingston CBD should be discouraged.”

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The new parking area is expected only to be temporary, with the site earmarked for future development, although this would also include a multistorey parking facility.

The council report said about 200 vehicles parked in the earmarked all-day parking vicinity each day.

“Every effort will be made to ensure that there is an adequate park-and-ride facility available at Huntingfield, plus an express bus service to Hobart... with these measures expected to be in place in a year’s time,” the report said.

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