Ballarat had their say on car parking and outdoor spaces in the city

Feedback has concluded on the Ballarat Parking and Outdoor Dining consultation where Ballarat residents were asked to share their views on future use of the city’s central public spaces.

The City of Ballarat heard from more than 370 respondents, including 27 businesses, about how car parking and outdoor activation impact them.  

Feedback is now being collated and will be presented to Council for consideration. The findings will also be used to help develop an Outdoor Dining Policy.

The survey asked questions such as, would the community support an extension of parking to 7pm to assist businesses to free up car parking near their venue for customers. It also probed how community members travel into the CBD and where they would like to park.

Early survey results indicate the majority of users believe the current parking system is working well for them.  

It also showed that people using the CBD car parks are mainly doing so for retail purposes followed by hospitality, while the community largely thinks outdoor dining is effective in the city, with more than 60 per cent of respondents saying they were happy with the outdoor activations.

City of Ballarat Councillor Ben Taylor said it was great to see so many people engage in the MySay survey about how they use the CBD.

“We really appreciate the community taking the time to tell us what they think of the CBD and how the parking and outdoor activations affect them,” he said.

“It helps us to plan for the future while taking into consideration what the community needs.

“Council is thoroughly looking forward to seeing all the results and anecdotes from the community that have been identified from the survey.”