CBD COMMUTE NOW EASIER With Park & Ride Service and Easypark Mobile App

Newcastle is undergoing unprecedented change and renewal. More than $1billion worth of development has been approved across the city in the last 12 months.

Overhead cranes are a common sight in the city centre, and the infrastructure needed to support our growing city is also being built with new roads, light rail, better footpaths and cycleways.

Meanwhile, Newcastle City Council is working to ensure the city remains open for business.

"We are offering alternative parking options to make your daily commute easier, whether you are headed to Newcastle East, the Civic Precinct, Newcastle West or Wickham," said Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes.

Council has also introduced a new smart parking app, just one of the ideas being implemented as part of our Smart City Strategy.

"The EasyPark app is the start of a broader approach to making parking smarter in the city centre," said the Lord Mayor.

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"Our vision is for Newcastle to be an open, collaborative and connected smart city that uses technology to make things easier, more liveable and sustainable - and this app definitely fits the bill."

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With Park and Ride, the No2 Sports-ground car park and the new parking mobile app, Council is helping you get where you need to go while saving time and money.

PARK AND RIDE AT MCDONALD JONES STADIUM The aim is to get as many commuters as possible using the park and ride service operating at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Users can dodge the rush-hour traffic, skip the parking hassles, and park, ride, relax and - at just $2.20 per day - save money. For commuters paying $8 per day and working 48 weeks a year, this is a savings of almost $1,440! Plus, you can pay your Park and Ride fee quickly and easily using Council's new EasyPark mobile app.

In a survey conducted in December, more than nine in ten survey participants (93%) indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the park and ride service.

NO.2 SPORTSGROUND CAR PARK No.2 Sportsground car park has been one of Newcastle's best-kept parking secrets. It has 200 off-street parking spaces, including six disabled spaces, yet a 2017 usage survey found that only about 15 vehicles on average were using the car park each weekday.

The car park, on Smith Street, is just 2 minutes' walk from Marketown, six minutes from the King St fare-free bus stop, seven minutes to Hunter St and eight minutes to Honeysuckle's business centre.

At just $6 a day Monday-Friday and free on weekends, this is one of the cheapest paid parking options anywhere in the city centre. No.2 Sportsground is an affordable, handy, viable option for many Newcastle commuters.

EASYPARK MOBILE APP The new smartphone app means that you no longer have to feed coins into the meter or swipe your credit card at the meter. Newcastle is the first NSW council to deploy this app to manage parking spaces right across the city. Just be sure to check the nearest meter for the precinct number shown on it and enter that number into the app.

Commuters who use the park and ride service from the stadium can also use the app to pay for parking remotely. By registering with your number plate, the app allows you to start a parking session, extend it if needed and end it immediately.

Simply log in and, by spinning a wheel on the screen of your phone or tablet, set your zone (precinct) from the number shown on the meter and the required time length.

Parking officers will use their handheld devices to verify payment by cars without a ticket on their dashboard, and will still be able to enforce time limits specified by street signage.

To find more information about all of these services, visit Council's website at www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au