Recently we visited Forfar for the first time and found that the town has several car parks, all of which free.
The car parks were well used but not overfull, the streets were not clogged with parked cars, the town centre was thriving and the buildings could be seen and appreciated.
By contrast, we used to live near a town where parking had been free until the council decided to impose charges in its car parks. Within months, it became a ghost town.