Why are we developing a City Centre Parking Plan?

    This will help guide how we manage our existing parking supply and how and when we consider future parking supply as our City Centre grows.

    What will the City Centre Parking Plan include?

    The parking plan will look at providing an optimal supply of spaces and measures to get better use of our existing parking supply. 

    This is likely to consider more on-street spaces, some modifications to parking time restrictions to achieve better turnover for shops and businesses, ensuring we have sufficient and convenient disabled parking spaces, and adjusting the on-site parking requirements for new development. 

    What about parking in other centres in the LGA?

    The City has undertaken counts of car parking supply and demand in our other key centres such as Woolgoolga, the Jetty area and Sawtell.  

    Future parking management in Woolgoolga is addressed in the recently adopted  Woolgoolga Movement and Place Plan .

    The City monitors and assesses parking management in these other centres through our parking surveys, enforcement operations, our Local Traffic Committee, and responding to community feedback regarding roads, traffic and parking issues.

    How many car parking spaces do we currently have?

    The City Centre has close to 4,000 car parking spaces on the streets and in the City-owned car parks. There is a similar number of spaces located on business premises to service customers and workers. 

    How many disabled car parking spaces do we currently have?

    The City Centre has 71 disabled parking spaces in the City Centre, close to 2% of the total amount of public car parking spaces. A large proportion of these spaces are in the Castle Street multi-level car park and the multi-level car park beside Woolworths.  

    What role does the City play in car parking?

    Parking spaces are an asset that is owned and managed both publicly and privately. Car parking spaces in the City Centre are provided by both the City and private businesses. 

    Businesses often provide on-site parking for employees and customers. 

    The City is responsible for parking spaces on the streets and in the numerous off-street car parks around the City Centre.  

    The City is also responsible for the road reserves that include the road pavement, kerb and guttering, footpaths, street trees and the general verge space that interfaces with the businesses in the City Centre. How we manage car parking can have a big impact on these street elements.  

    Why do we need parking time restrictions?

    Time restricted parking options provide equitable access to parking for short and medium term users during business hours, by removing competition from all day commuters. The shorter time restrictions in the more convenient locations encourage a regular turnover of parking spaces to help provide more certainty of easy access to shops and services.  

    The increased turnover also depends on effective enforcementWithout regular patrols many of our parking spaces in the more convenient locations would be occupied continuously by the same vehicles, reducing the ability for shoppers, customers and clients to access shops and services in the City Centre.

    What are the current NSW parking rules?

    To understand more about parking rules, visit NSW Parking rules .