The Senate approved the Hamilton Pay and Display Voucher Parking Ordinance 1995 and the Traffic Offences Procedure Amendment Act 1995.

Sen. Lawrence Scott (UBP) said the Corporation of Hamilton was moving to a voucher system of paid on-street parking to help pay for the new $5.5 million multi-storey carpark at Bull's Head.

A similar system had worked well in Bath and Brighton in England, and also in the Channel Island of Jersey.

The Corporation expected to raise $799,000 a year through the voucher system, he said.

Each voucher would cost 50 cents and be good for one hour. Motorists would be required to mark on the voucher the date and time that they parked and display the voucher in the windscreen.

"It basically brings the parking lot system to the street,'' Sen. Scott said.

Sen. Neletha (Honey) Butterfield (PLP) said if Bermuda had a "user friendly'' public transportation system, fewer cars would pour into Hamilton each day.

An adjustment period was needed until motorists got used to filling out the vouchers, she said. Sen. Butterfield also wondered about how the grace period which traffic wardens could give would work. It was easy to get held up in a bank for one hour and 15 minutes. And now the parking fines had increased to $50 from $30.

Sen. Alf Oughton (Ind) described the voucher system as "a move in the right direction''.

Something was needed to address the parking problem in the city, and the new system would assist shoppers while helping to eliminate "musical cars'' -- people avoiding tickets by periodically moving their cars a short distance.

The vouchers were preferable to parking meters. Hamilton planned a major campaign to educate the public about the new system, Sen. Oughton said.

Senate Opposition Leader Sen. Milton Scott said Bermudians were increasingly being required to pay for everything.

Someone had suggested placing a toll where Johnny Barnes stood and requiring everyone to throw in $5 as they entered Hamilton.

Sen. Scott said he would be forced to ride a cycle into town, except that cycles were too frequently stolen.

He was glad there would be no parking meters, but predicted the vouchers would soon be seen on Hamilton streets. Then Government would collect $100 fines from people who littered.

Government Senate Leader the Hon. Gerald Simons said everyone had to pay for the services they enjoyed, and the challenge was finding a "fair and appropriate'' means of charging.

The charges proposed were "not unreasonable'', and Sen. Simons hoped the voucher system would cause fewer people to bring cars into Hamilton.

Sen. Terry Lister (PLP) said the hospital levy was originally introduced to pay for the building of the hospital, but it recently became part of the new payroll tax.

"We have the same thing here, it would appear,'' he said. Once Bull's Head was paid for, "paid parking will go on forever''.

Sen. Lister questioned the fairness of charging people who parked on the street "to allow people to park at Bull's Head all day''.

On public transportation, Sen. Lister said the Somerset ferry would be used more, but the last departure from Hamilton at 5.20 p.m. was "a bit too early''.

"If we can get that ferry system working, the need for long-term parking will be reduced,'' he said.

Sen. Lister said the vouchers should be sold not just in Hamilton, but outlying areas as well.

Sen. Lynda Milligan-Whyte (UBP) said the voucher system was not just about raising money. It related to demographic changes in Bermuda that had affected Hamilton.

There was a proliferation of cars, an increased number of households, and more people working in Hamilton, she said. The voucher system was a way of dealing with the resulting problem of long-term parking in Hamilton.

Sen. Norma Astwood (Ind) said Government asked people to carpool several years ago, but she was not aware of any follow-up to determine whether that appeal had been successful.

Public transportation was not always an economically viable option and people found it cheaper to drive their own cars, she said. Some ferry stops had no parking, which discouraged motorists from using the ferry, she added.

Sen. Astwood expressed safety concerns about Bull's Head. She wondered whether women who would have to pick up their cars at night would want to use the new facility. Some consideration had to be given to how the carpark would be staffed.

There was a need for more parking, but she wondered about other options. What about parking lots which were near, but outside, city limits, along with shuttle buses to move motorists? Sen. Yvette Swan (UBP) said only one problem could be solved at a time, and the first issue was raising money to pay for Bull's Head.

She wanted to encourage car pools and was pleased Hamilton would have no "unsightly'' parking meters.

Senate President the Hon. Albert Jackson (Ind) said he found the question of how the new system would be monitored "a little worrisome''.

Bermuda had many such laws that were difficult to monitor, like anti-litter and anti-pollution laws, he said.

If the new system could not be properly monitored, "is it then worth the paper it's written on,'' he asked.

Experience would tell whether it needed to be looked at again, he said.

Wrapping up, Sen. Scott said traffic wardens could give grace periods of "five minutes here or there''.