A NEW car park on Hereford Street could be the solution for congestion in the central business district.
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The sporting fields in Hereford Street are set to get a new 1400-space car park, with construction to start in the 2020-21 financial year.
Councillor Alex Christian thinks that, with a better bus timetable, that car park could help free up spaces in the CBD.
"If we're going to have 1400 car spaces, it's excellent for people who work in the CBD to be able to park their car there all day," he said.
"If we have a decent bus service that leaves at regular intervals, particularly in the mornings and the afternoons, it will encourage people to use that space during the week."
He said that congestion is already an issue, but it would only get worse as more people call the region home.
"We talk about critical infrastructure with roads, well car parking is right up there," he said.
"It's critical that we come up with some solutions and in a reasonable time frame.
"The population is booming, 11,000 people in the next 16 years according to most estimates. This isn't stuff that we can sort of twiddle our thumbs on, we need to make decisions and get on with these projects."
Parking in the CBD has been a hot topic for many years, with people finding it increasingly difficult to secure an all-day free parking space.
Several ideas have been proposed, including a multi-storey car park at Carrington Park, but no concrete plans have been put into place.
In an effort to make spots available more often, Bathurst Regional Council uses its parking enforcement vehicle as a deterrent for those who try to overstay their welcome.
Council is also in the middle of a traffic study with Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), which will be used to address transport infrastructure needs in the future.
Traffic in and out of Kelso is expected to be one of the priorities, with another river crossing one of the options likely to be considered.
