Brunswick Heads residents are being asked for feedback on plans to introduce paid parking in the town centre.
The Byron Shire Council has placed the draft Brunswick Heads Town Centre Parking Strategy on exhibition and is now calling for public comment.
The strategy includes revised parking durations and paid parking in the town centre.
The council’s acting general manager Mark Arnold said councillors had supported the strategy as a basis for public consultation at the 21 September meeting.
The strategy was developed by consultants last year.
Mr Arnold said the strategy would not only improve traffic flow in the town, but would also raise revenue from visitors that would be reinvested back into Brunswick Heads.
The council introduced pay parking to Byron Bay in December 2015 and last year alone it generated $3.5 million which has funded road and infrastructure upgrades in Byron and has facilitated the development of a range of key Master Plan projects in the town centre.
‘Without parking revenue these projects would not have been able to proceed,’ Mr Arnold said.
‘Parking consultants estimate the introduction of pay parking in Brunswick Heads could generate $900,000 a year which Council has undertaken to dedicate to upgraded public amenities and infrastructure in Brunswick Heads.
Mr Arnold said records showed that residents in Brunswick Heads and the north of Byron Shire already had 1670 pay parking permits which means they can park free of charge in all pay parking zones in the Shire including Byron Bay, Wategos, Belongil, Bangalow (from January 2018) and perhaps Brunswick Heads.
‘Accordingly, the proposed pay parking scheme targets visitors to the Shire who will generate the majority of parking revenue collected at the meters,” Mr Arnold said.
‘Council is aware that some businesses in Brunswick Heads are concerned that the introduction of pay parking would have a negative impact on their livelihood.
‘While this is perfectly understandable, business operators in Byron Bay had similar concerns before pay parking was introduced there in 2015 however since then visitor numbers have continued to increase and businesses are now quite supportive of the scheme.’
Feedback from the public consultation will be compiled into a further report which would go before the council in November.
The draft Brunswick Heads Town Centre Parking Strategy will be on public exhibition until the 20 October.
Byron Shire Council staff will be visiting Brunswick Heads to talk to business owners and members of the community in coming weeks.
A random telephone survey will also be done and people are encouraged to do an online survey on the council’s website.
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