The City of Hamilton’s decision to introduce pay-and-display parking across all streets within the city limits has prompted a mixed reaction from members of the public.“I think it’s a good thing,” said accountant Jo Stanton, 53. “I travel by ferry, which is probably why I think it’s a good thing. But it never made sense to me why you could park for free on one side of Victoria Square and not the other, so I think it makes sense.”Vincent Edness, 28, a Digicel employee, disagreed. “It’s terrible,” he said. “If that’s the case they might as well expand the city limits so people over in Fairylands and Rosemont pay higher land tax too. What about them? They can just walk to town. They might as well raise everything.”“I think it’s ridiculous,” said Shirley Ible, 28, a receptionist, adding that it wouldn’t affect whether or not she parked in the capital.William Smith, 46, who catches the ferry every day to his job at Sports Source, where he is sales manager, said: “I didn’t know there was free parking. But for our customers, that would not be good. People are having a hard time paying for parking already around here. It wouldn’t be good.”Trademark analyst Ed Silvia, 54, said: “I got an opinion: I think it’s lame. It’s lame for the shopkeepers. People have to pay even if they’re just in town to make a quick purchase. I can see them making people pay who are going to work and take up spots all day, but stopping free parking for people who shop, no. It won’t affect me, but it might affect my wife whose doing most of the shopping.”Shay Jones, 62, an AIG employee, said: “They should allow some free spaces. It won’t affect how often I come into town personally, but I do know it will affect other people. Because even if you want to go and get something for five minutes, you’ll still have to pay so much, just for five minutes. It’s best, I think, to walk.”Retiree Bryan Parkin, 66, said: “If people are parking in the city then everybody should be paying a certain portion, irrespective of what type of vehicle they use.“I work in town so I’m here every day but I think it’s a good idea to get as many people to park outside the city as possible. That will free up a lot of areas within the city. I think that would be a good idea.”