Motorists will soon be able to park free for the first 15 minutes in some parts of Inverness city centre as part of a move to boost trade.
But members of the Inverness City Area Committee warned the new pilot scheme will risk more congestion and pollution, and asked for a study into any increased business profits after a year.
The parking changes were agreed by city councillors yesterday at the Inverness Town House.
It means drivers will be able to park free for 15 minutes in some spaces within on-street pay and displays – not car parks – when the scheme starts up within weeks.
Motorists will likely need to punch in their registration numbers in to one of 17 existing pay and display machines to get a free ticket – to stop drivers coming back and getting another one free and abusing the system.
The new technology needed for this will cost in the region of £85,000.
The scheme, which aims to encourage more ‘click and collect’ activity and buying of goods from city centre businesses, has already been trialled in Perth where it has recently been made permanent.
Traders in Inverness city centre have welcomed the move.
The committee also approved to go out to public consultation on a plan to introduce 17 new short-stay pay and display parking bays across the city centre which will allow drivers to park for an hour for a charge of £1.
Provost and Inverness Area Leader Helen Carmichael said: “It’s about striking a balance between making our city centres as accessible and shopper friendly as possible and managing congestion and the environmental impact traffic has within Inverness.
“In the future I would like us to explore having electric hop on and hop off transport within the city centre as part of the mix.”
During yesterday’s members’ discussion, Inverness Central councillor Richard Laird said he was “content” to go ahead with the trial but was “concerned” about the effects on traffic congestion in the Queensgate area.
He added: “If the purpose of this trial is to see if it helps the income of city centre businesses, I am not going to be satisfied if evidence is anecdotal in a year’s time. I would like to see some concrete facts and figures.”
Inverness Millburn councillor Jimmy Gray said he was concerned whether there was insufficient space in the city centre for all demands to be met, from short-stop free parking to boost trade to cutting congestion and pollution.