By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHOULD TRADERS GET PARKING EXEMPTIONS? VOTE IN OUR POLL AND SCROLL TO BELOW THIS STORY TO POST A COMMENT.
BUSINESS owners and workers in central Dandenong are set to lobby for free all-day parking near their shops.
Neera Jain, who owns a clothing shop in Dandenong Hub arcade, is gathering petition signatures from nearby traders for a sticker or pass to exempt them from parking fees.
Ms Jain said she was sick of paying parking fines “even when we are not at fault” in the free five-hour spaces in neighbouring Dandenong Plaza.
She said the nearest free full-day parking bays (on level four) in Dandenong Plaza were often filled before 9am and were too exposed to the weather (on level five).
She said she and her husband couldn’t afford to park above the Hub arcade for a combined $10 a day. It also closes its gates by 6pm, restricting them from working at night.
“In the Dandenong area there is no free parking for traders. In this time when we are struggling to make every dollar, parking fines are a mere harassment,” Ms Jain said.
“I would request [Greater] Dandenong Council to do something for traders who come daily to Dandenong for work.”
Cigarette stall vendor Shah Kazemy said he had recently been fined twice in the Plaza’s five-hour spaces. He claimed he was booked an hour after moving his car. “Where are we allowed to park? We pay council rates. We should be able to get somewhere to park.”
Dandenong Retail Traders Association president Roy Aspinall said traders should be careful not to reduce customer parking.
“People have to understand Dandenong is like the CBD. It’s a major hub. The council has tried free parking, which cluttered up the car parks and people couldn’t get into our businesses.”
Greater Dandenong’s acting regulatory services manager Geoff Fraser said the nearest free all-day parking to the Hub was on the Princes Highway service road and in Langhorne Street.
There was also ticketed all-day parking off Langhorne Street, with ‘early bird’ discounts at three car parks west of Lonsdale Street.
“If traders and workers in Dandenong were exempt from [parking fees and time restrictions], this would make it impossible for most shoppers to find a parking spot anywhere near the businesses they want to visit.”
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