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.
Brunswick Heads residents are asked for feedback on parking. That is when the Council wants a nibble on a problem to show they are doing something that will last at least to the next election.
When you have a problem you plan an attack that will fix the problem for good.
You fix the problem of parking and that means the spending of money, big money.
You build an Underground Parking Station for 1000 cars. That gets the cars off the streets of Brunswick heads, meaning the decision is a Green decision as Byron Council has green councillors and the solution reduces cars by 1000 on the streets of the town.
With underground parking then you can have parking for Free or you can charge after the first hour and that means locals can use it for free to do shopping but cars that stay there for two to three hours pay for the car park.
Now I put up the hard solution for Councils to follow because any other solution is just nibbling at the problem.
Many years ago an underground car park was mooted at Tweed Heads, under the Civic Centre and under Chris Cunningham Park. To this day no car park. At Kingscliff an underground car park was mooted under the town for the police station. To this day no car park and Kingscliff has a parking problem. That underground car park was put up more than 20 years ago, and still no underground car park.
Council will not grasp the nettle, they will not move forward, so don’t put your faith into Byron Council to solve this parking problem. They will nibble at the problem as they have done with paid parking in Byron Bay.
Just how has paid parking solved the problem in Byron Bay? It hasn’t. All it has done is give money to the Council.
Brunswick Heads has a parking problem. That means it takes big people to fix a big problem that will fix the problem for good.
Underground Parking is the way if you want it done environmentally for the future of your children 20 to 30 years hence.
Hmm … Mr Heggarty, an underground 1000 vehicle car park in a coastal town with a river … Really ?
You don’t seem to understand the basics of how water works.
Maybe there’s a very good (scientifically proven) reason why you don’t put cars underground by a river next to the Pacific Ocean ?
Unless, of course, you’re the Gold Coast.
We have had one for 20 years at Coolangatta beach on two levels
Byron Bay Paid Parking Has Killed Business’s…who wants to pay TOP $’s for a casual shop & a swim at the beach.
Before parking meters in Byron Bay no parking was available now..with parking meters lots of spare parking spaces.
Work It Out!
Council wins, business’s lose.
As a home owner in ocean shores i’m disgusted that we will have to pay to park in brunswick heads!!!!! We already pay huge rates compared to other shires. I don’t go to byron anymore because of the paid parking. The local business’s in byron have suffered from this introduction. i know several business’s that have closed due to this. but your not worried about us locals it’s all about the dollar.
pretty pissed off jacqui
Stopped visiting and shopping in Byron because of paid parking. Now visit Brunswick every week instead but will go to Lennox Head if paid parking is introduced. We like to park our car and go for a coffee read a book, walk and then eat. Not worry about a two hour parking limit or fees.If paid parking is introduced shops will close and the pot holes still will not be fixed.With the 900,000 k you will probably get a monstrous shopping center or similar gold coast development just like Byron.Sad to say that their is very little difference between the current council and the last. If the people of Brunswick are not careful the shops and cafes in town will go the way of the chip shop. Paid parking is like crack cocaine for councils. Once they get a taste they just want more and heaven help the community in the way. Byron has lost its diversity and identity since paid parking . Do you want the same for Brunswick?