By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
DANDENONG’S retailers body has made a bold proposal to Greater Dandenong Council to fix one of its greatest bugbears – customer parking shortages in the CBD.
In its submission to the council’s parking review, the Dandenong Retail Traders Association argues CBD workers and retailers are parking en masse in what should be reserved as customer car spots.
The DRTA nominates short-term fixes such as increasing loading zones to stop vans double-parking, reducing clearway times, reviewing parking time limits and installing signs to direct customers into recommended parking areas.The DRTA based its submission on ideas generated from one-on-one interviews with 143 business owners in central Dandenong. About 70 per cent of the owners nominated lack of customer parking as a deterrent for shoppers.
President Glenys Cooper said the survey found many observed office and retail workers feeding meters all day, taking up valuable on-street customer parking spots.
“Some retail premises believe they can park outside their own shop but there needs to be a re-education that that is best used for customer parking.
“We also need more monitoring. There are only 6.5 parking inspectors in the whole of the City of Greater Dandenong. No matter how efficient and effective they are, they can’t adequately monitor all of Noble Park, Springvale and central Dandenong.
“If we can stop people abusing the parking system and moving them on – those who are in two-hour spots and parking all day – it will be the best thing for all of us.”
Ms Cooper said multi-deck car parks should put short-term customer parking on the bottom tiers with all-day worker parking on top.
She backed a recent similar parking initiative at Dandenong Plaza, which has started charging $4 for all-day parking for non-plaza workers.
“A lot of railway station commuters and office workers were using it as free all-day parking area. Customers there will see a big difference around Christmas time.”
One challenge however was a reluctance among workers to pay for parking, such as in the under-utilised Hemmings Street car park.
The issue becomes particularly critical with the influx of workers at the council’s new Dandenong headquarters, which opens next year with little on-site parking.
“The council should be able to influence its own workers not to park in customer car parks.
“When more office buildings are built, which is great for Dandenong, there should be more on-site parking included as part of their permits.
“There will also need to be more building of multi-deck car parks in the long-term.
“If we push more cars into parking on residential streets, that creates more of a problem.”
Ms Cooper said some businesses required shorter customer parking time-limits. Spots outside a real estate agent should be limited to 15 minutes; parking spaces outside dentists, hairdressers and restaurants two hours.
The DRTA also proposes brochures and better signage to direct shoppers to recommended parking areas such as multi-decks.
Are you frustrated by the lack of parking in central Dandenong? Do you have to park in central Dandenong for work? Let us know your thoughts at journal@starnewsgroup.com.au or on the Journal’s Facebook site.
