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Workers to pay up to $720 a year to use Ophir Car Park
May 1, 2023
By Peter Holmes
The three-year free parking party is coming to an end, with a CBD car park in Orange set to resume daily parking fees from Monday May 8, 2023.
In April 2020, in response to a pandemic that was in its earliest months, Orange City Council paused the $3 daily fee at the Ophir Car Park, on the corner of Kite Street and Lords Place.
“We’re continuing to make sure we’re complying with the recommendations of national and state health authorities when it comes to the operation of council facilities,” then-mayor Reg Kidd said at the time.
In a post-vaccine world it seems slightly absurd, but at the time the coronavirus was so new and so dangerous that people were wiping down their shopping, paying $15 for one flimsy mask and $25 for 250mL of hand sanitiser, and leaving mail outside for a day before allowing it into the house.
In 2023 few are wearing a mask, and many of the hand sanitiser stations at the front of shops are empty. Good a time as any for a council to reintroduce paid parking.
“Businesses are telling us it’s time for paid parking to be reinstated to encourage more parking turnover in the CBD,” said deputy mayor Gerald Power in a council statement.
Council staff commissioned a report from consultants GHD into “parking options in the precinct” last year. The report said paid parking should be reintroduced to the Ophir Car Park.
A person who used the Ophir Car Park every weekday for 48 weeks of the year would pay $720 in parking fees, although this could be cut to $545 if two six-month passes ($272.50) were purchased.
Do you support the reintroduction of a $3 daily fee at Ophir Car Park?
Yes
No
Council reports say there are approximately 600 unlimited car parking spaces within a five-minute walk of the CBD.
“It’s important for drivers to be aware of this change so they can make a choice about where to park and be prepared to pay for using all-day parking in Ophir Car Park to avoid being fined,” Power said.
While paid parking will return to the Ophir Car Park, 36 spaces on the Kite and Moulder Street fringes of the car park will remain as free two-hour spaces.
All other spots will stay as all-day car parks.
“Council parking patrol officers may be issuing a warning letter instead of a fine while drivers get used to the change,” council stated. No specifics were included.
“Like any change, it will take some time to adjust to these new arrangements so I’m asking people to be patient while we all get used to this change,” Power said.
“There are still many options for free all-day parking in the streets and other car parks around the CBD and this could be a good time to discover these options.”
Long-term permits can be purchased from Orange City Council’s customer service desk:
1 month = $44.50
3 months = $133.50
6 months = $272.50
A map of CBD parking zones can be found here.
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