Charges change Time consuming tech will be ditched
FRUSTRATED motorists will have a much easier time parking at one town centre car park from next month.
The system in Regent Arcade currently sees people putting in the last three digits of their numbeplate on a touchscreen.
From Monday, September 3, visitors to the car park will have a range of payment options thanks to new technology.
Upon entry into the busy site, visitors can use their contactless debit or credit card and using automatic number plate recognition, payment will automatically be taken from the cards as the vehicle leaves the car park.
This means that customers will not need to spend time at a payment machine.
If you want to pay by another method, you can take a ticket upon entry and pay at the end of your stay, using cash and other contactless meth- ods including Apple Pay and Google Pay at the brand new payment machines.
The existing machines – those laborious touch-screen machines – will remain in place until the system is live.
However, in line with other car parks around the town, the borough council says prices will increase “slightly” when the new service goes live.
There will also be charges for Blue Badge holders in a bid to encourage people to move towards public transport for journeys in and around the town centre
To enable work to start, access to the Regent Arcade car park was restricted intermittently on Monday, August 13, so that the new equipment could be delivered.
New signage will also be introduced to explain the new system and new charges.
Councillor Andrew Mckinlay, cabinet lead for development and safety said: ‘’I am pleased that we have a better solution for customers using Regent Arcade car park, which will now offer a range of easy ways to pay for parking.
“While we recognise that Blue Badge holders will now be asked to pay, I would urge all customers to consider how they travel around the town centre, with public transport and Shopmobility services offering increased opportunities for people to get into the heart of Cheltenham.’’
From September 3, Blue Badge holders will be restricted to three hours maximum free parking in all other Cheltenham Borough Council car parks, bringing it line with on-street parking restrictions. philip.norris@reachplc.com