MORE than £1m is set to be spent on modernising Barnsley town centre’s car parks.
The scheme’s first phase will go before the council’s cabinet members on Wednesday, after the project was agreed last year, and seeks to ‘support the opening of The Glass Works development and the wider redevelopment of the town centre’.
The investments will be made to make parking quicker, safer and easier to use with more electric vehicle charging points, and greater flexibility supporting the council’s ambitions to reduce carbon emissions.
A total of £107,000 will be invested into digital sensors across the town centre, in a bid to identify live occupancy at on-street and council car parks - this will improve visitor journey planning and reduce journey times.
More than £250,000 will be invested in new payment machines, and payment by cash, card, app and the ability to extend the duration of the customer’s stay - in hope of making Barnsley an attractive location.
It is expected the first raft of improvements will be carried out over the next 12 months.
Coun Chris Lamb, cabinet spokesperson for place, added: “The fantastic regeneration of our town centre is nearly complete, and with this parking strategy we’re making it easier to visit Barnsley and support The Glass Works and our wider town centre economy.
“We want to make it safer, quicker and easier for those that choose to drive into town to find a convenient parking space and encourage visitors to stay longer.
“We’re always conscious of our environmental impacts and we’re working towards a zero carbon borough, so we want to do all we can to encourage people to use public transport or active travel to get into town, yet we know people are going to continue using cars for some time to come.”
