Jan Lay has run the Rainbow Coffee shop in Springvale Shopping Centre for 20 years and said parking meters were scaring away her customers.
She said they would rush out of the store to avoid receiving a parking fine, costing her sales.
“There is a reduction of people coming into my store,” she said.
“Customers I haven’t seen for a while, I ask them where they’ve been and they say they don’t come anymore because they can’t park.
“The customer cannot be late for 30 seconds, they get a ticket.
“The machines are there just to collect the fine, to give out fines.
“They are issuing tickets more frequently than they used to.
Ms Lay said she shopped in Springvale to save money and would now rather do her business elsewhere.
“If it made our business better we would support it totally,” she said.
“It’s sending our customers away.
“Our livelihoods depend on them.”
Ms Lay challenged Cr Kirwan to talk to the local business owners “and see who supports his idea” rather than look at statistics.
“They don’t know the business operators, how much they struggle,” she said.
“If they paid the bills like we do, they’d understand.
“They say that Springvale is prospering.
“They are not supporting us, they are trying to ruin us by having these parking meters.
“As a customer, why would you even bother coming if you are going to get a fine?
“Go to Springvale South, go to Clayton, go to Glen Waverley.”
