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| June 2002 |
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Free parking is working
Central city business owners say the Council’s First-Hour-Free
carparking scheme is a huge success, bringing more people into
the city and making the area a more attractive option for
retailers and shoppers. Following a trial the City Council recently voted to continue
to back the scheme, and extend it to include a fourth
carparking building in the central city, in Manchester Street. Among the main Central City Strategy aims is a desire to
reverse the business and residential drift from the city centre to
the suburbs and outlying areas and to provide incentives for the
new business and residential ventures to choose the city centre
for their enterprises. The Strategy aims to make the central city a more attractive
place to live, shop, socialise and do business. According to Mark Bachels, the Council’s Urban Development
Policy Leader, the free parking scheme is proving to be an
outstanding success in furthering those strategic goals. “It’s been a big win and very well received by both the public
and the business community in the centre of the city,” he says. “According to the numbers we’re seeing, it’s showing some
great returns, with the numbers of vehicles using the parking
buildings up by around 25 per cent in just nine months.” |