Griffith Council moves forward with plans for paid parking at Regional Airport

Griffith Council is exploring options to introduce ticketless paid parking at Griffith Regional Airport, which is currently free and unlimited.

The council has obtained three quotes from private suppliers for implementing the system.

A newly formed airport committee, including councillors Christine Stead and Tony O’Grady, along with community members, is discussing the proposals.

At its first meeting in March, this committee recommended approving a licence plate recognition ticketless paid parking system.

This system is proposed to include three lanes for entry and/or exit.

According to minutes from the March meeting, council staffer Peter Badenhorst presented an overview of the plan to the committee.

Under the proposed licence plate recognition system, drivers will not need to collect a paper ticket upon entering the airport.

Instead, cameras will read their licence plates to calculate the fee owed upon departure.

Payment will be card-only, with no cash option available.

Councillor O’Grady stated at the April council meeting that a cash system would cost more money, which is why the card-only option was chosen.

Details regarding the specific fees for parking at the airport have not yet been provided.

Funding for the installation of the ticketless parking system has been allocated in the 2024/25 budget.

The council has obtained quotes for two different ticketless parking systems and various lane configurations from the three suppliers.