Free Parking Heaven?

Skimming through the local free paper, I notice the local Conservatives are proposing to "sensationally" (Dudley News' phrase, not mine) scrap car parking fees across the Dudley Borough - should they take control of the Council next year.
My old pal Patrick Harley - who is leader of the Dudley Tories these days - makes a fair point when he says "our town centres are dead".
But is free car parking really the golden goose to pump blood back into our beleaguered towns? Merry Hill is - and has been for years - the major culprit locally in the Black Country.
Free parking might well encourage more activity in our traditional centres, but it will also encourage more congestion and more fumes.
As Cllr Harley points out "we need to do something".
I presume the often discussed topic of introducing car parking charges to Merry Hill is off the discussion table then?