An inner-city business owner says strict enforcement of parking rules has made her "feel like prey" as she calls on Newcastle council to introduce one hour of free parking in Hunter Street.
Blackstone Gallery owners Marguerite Tierney and Tim Moran have organised a petition with 658 signatures which they hope will be presented to the council in coming weeks.
The couple returned to Newcastle last year after 15 years in Melbourne to open the gallery on what they thought would be a thriving tram route. But the light rail line removed much of the parking in Hunter Street, and Ms Tierney said what was left was now too strictly policed.
The tram line has not aided businesses like they do in Melbourne; they have killed them.
Marguerite Tierney
"Parking is extremely minimal now, and as one of the hotspots for parking inspectors, the public are charged to visit Hunter Street, penalised so heavily (and questionably fast) if their easy park app ticks over, and we feel like prey," the couple said in a letter to the council. "It is hard times, people have lost their jobs, nothing is certain and we need help."
The council pocketed $8 million in fees from parking meters and stations in 2018-19 and another $4 million in parking fines. The fines and fees amounted to 3.5 per cent of the council's total operating revenue.
It has not issued its 2019-20 income figures, but its May financial update showed parking fine revenue was tracking $400,000 above what had been budgeted.
Ms Tierney's sister Lisa was a Liberal councillor when the city tested free parking briefly in December 2012, before then lord mayor Jeff McCloy used his casting vote to rescind the trial because it was "being abused by members of the public".
The petition asks the council to introduce one hour of free, timed parking in Hunter Street. Motorists would pay for the second hour in two-hour parking spots.
Ms Tierney said many businesses had shut along Hunter Street in the past 18 months, and COVID-19 had added to their plight.
She wrote that parking inspectors were "enraging" business owners and driving customers away to suburban shopping centres.
"The tram line has not aided businesses like they do in Melbourne; they have killed them. Our customers are further charged to have a coffee, visit a galley or pick up a wedding dress."
She conceded many of the signatories on the petition were not from Newcastle.
"But parking pisses off everybody," she told the Newcastle Herald on Friday.
"I don't want to go whingeing; I want to provide a solution and help everyone.
"I know the council relies on a lot of their revenue from parking, so they can't just eradicate it, but I think we need some leniency, particularly in these times."
IN THE NEWS:
-
Female teacher who groomed and indecently assaulted student, 14, jailed
- Contractors discovered suspected asbestos under sub-floor in heritage building
- MDMA and psilocybin considered in Australia for psychotherapy use
- Voice of Real Australia Podcast: Concerns raised for the environmental impact of coal ash in the Hunter
.png?w=600)
