It has been announced that both on and off street parking fees and charges will increase from Monday, 5th July 2021. All parking fees will increase by 10 cents per hour to a maximum additional charge of 50 cents per day with the exception of Central Carpark which remains at 1 dollar per hour.
This is the first parking fee increase for Toowoomba since 2018 and will allow Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) to keep pace with costs of maintenance, upgrading and introducing new payment options. The increase is consistent with the CPI (Cost Price Index) over the past three years.
Parking fees were initially due to rise in 2020 but the Toowoomba Regional Council decides to waive all parking charges in April due to the pandemic. This initiative was part of the $10.5 million stage one pandemic economic relief package. Furthermore, the biennial increase to the parking fees was also delayed, helping alleviate the economic strain and support the city’s business.
A part of its annual Budget process, a new schedule of Fees and Charges for 2021-22 was adopted by Council at its Ordinary Meeting in March.
Melissa said, “It’s an appropriate time to make changes to the fees after deferring the increase in 2020 given the Region’s circumstances in relation to COVID-19 have improved greatly since the same time last year.”
The increase is necessary in order to assist council in the “operating and maintaining” of the city’s carparks as well as the “upgrading” of parking meters to “facilitate payment by credit card and future smart parking initiatives.”
However, motorists should be remaindered that the free one-hour parking is still available on Ruthven and Margaret streets in Toowoomba’s CBD and people can also take full advantage of a number of 5 and 10-minute parking zones in these areas as well!
“Weekly parking tickets are available at all of Council’s off-street carparks excluding the Toowoomba Bus Station Carpark, with discounted weekly parking available at the Herries and Water Streets Car Park and Station Street Carpark.”
Cr Melissa Taylor said Council continues to look for ways to improve parking services to ensure Toowoomba remains a modern and attractive city for residents and visitors alike.
“As the city continues to grow Council is planning for ongoing growth and development to make our city more user-friendly and accessible in the future,” Cr Taylor said.