The City of Cape Town has proposed an increase in roadside parking costs in the CBD, to as much as R400 a day. A proposed parking management plan that the City wants to adopt, proposes that those who wish to park for longer pay higher rates.
The proposal will affect long-stay motorists the most. Those parking for under two hours will pay the same as now – but if it exceeds two hours, the price increases exponentially.
A mayoral committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 10 to discuss the proposed plan. If approved by council, it will implemented a year from now on 1 July 2019, at the beginning of the new financial year.
According to the City, areas marked as A are the CBD, Claremont, Sea Point, Rondebosch, Camps Bay, Tygervalley and Woodstock. Currently, parking for longer than two hours is discouraged by a R450 fine. New charges mean that those parking for more than two hours in these areas, will pay just over R400 – and will be allowed to park for 8 hours without paying a fine. Currently, it costs R130 for 8 hours in these areas.
Areas marked as B include Bellville, Strand, Durbanville, Observatory, Tableview, Parow, Wynberg, Kalk Bay, Somerset West and Muizenberg. Parking for 8 hours in these areas costs under R100, but there is a R450 fine payable if you exceed two hours of parking as well. The new plan proposes that motorists in area B pay the same amount as they do presently for up to two hours of parking, but pay about R300 for a full day’s parking with no fine imposed.
Council reports and recommendations, undersigned by Brett Herron, Mayco member for urban development and transport – show that the motive behind the plan is to ease congestion, bring about behavioural change and encourage citizens to use public transport. Another motive is to improve availability of parking bays and reduce time spent circling in search of a place to park.
The plan also stipulates the challenges placed on the economic performance because of congestion in Cape Town. “It is estimated that congestion currently costs Cape Town R2.8billion per year.”
This new contractual cost-based model will be managed by parking management service providers, and be paid over to the City on a daily basis.
“The City will pay the service provider a tendered amount per month, adjusted for penalties and incentives. The City plans to award a contract to a single service provider for 8-and-a-half years for this purpose,” as stipulated in the report.
If council approves the business plan, a public participation process will be facilitated regarding policy changes.
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