From 8 a.m. on Monday, July 17, motorists will have to use parking vouchers to park on the city streets, Corporation of Hamilton Secretary Mr. Roger Sherratt said.

The vouchers, worth 50 cents, will be sold throughout the Island in books of 10 for $5.

Mr. Sherratt said a list of the outlets where the vouchers can be purchased will be listed in a newspaper advertisement before July 17.

Parking vouchers will be required in the City centre from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Streets where parking vouchers will be used are -- from east to west -- Bermudiana Road, Par-La-Ville Road as far north as Church Street, Wesley Street, Queen Street, and Court Street. From north to south, Victoria Street, Church Street, Reid Street, Front Street and Albouy's Point. And Parliament Street, from Front Street to Victoria Street.

Fifteen minutes of free parking will be allowed in front of the Post Office on Church Street.

The back of each voucher book will feature a calender dated from July 1995 to July 1996 and a clear explanation on how to fill out a voucher.

Motorists will be expected to scratch the appropriate boxes on the voucher and leave the voucher in the windscreen. Each voucher will be good for one hour.

Drivers will be allowed to stop to pick up or drop off passengers however vehicles will not be allowed to be left unattended without a displayed parking voucher.

The vouchers had a two-fold purpose, Mr. Sherratt said.

They were expected to raise $799,000 a year for the $5.5-million, multi-storey, 700-car Bulls Head parking lot which will open in October.

And, Mr. Sherratt said, they were expected to deter those who spent the day "shuffling'' their cars around.

Though motorists will not be able to just scratch off a number of vouchers and leave their cars in the same spot, Mr. Sherratt hoped the fact parking was no longer free would encourage people to leave their cars in lots.

The Corporation of Hamilton will be running a series of advertisements in The Royal Gazette and on television to further explain how the voucher system works.

GETTING THERE -- One purpose of the parking vouchers is to help pay for the $5.5 million Bull's Head car park.