Dwindling visitors a call to pay Author: By NEIL KEENE Civic Reporter Date: 17/10/2005 Publication: Newcastle Herald
INNER-city businesses are being urged to foot the bill for their customers' parking as the number of shoppers in Newcastle's central business district continue to dwindle.
The Newcastle Alliance has called for support in its monthly newsletter for a Newcastle City Council scheme whereby traders can buy books of 100 parking vouchers, with each coupon valid for one hour of free parking.
The books cost $150, equal to the $1.50-an-hour cost of seven-day meters in the city, and vouchers can be handed to customers to lure them back into town.
Alliance executive officer Kath Elliott said in the newsletter businesses had been slow to take up the voucher offer.
As crowds again stayed away from the Market Street street markets yesterday, some business owners were asking why anyone should have to pay for parking on weekends.
A trader who asked not to be named said the voucher system was "a joke".
"Why should we be expected to pay for our customers when the council should just open the whole thing up to free parking?" she asked.
Council officers have argued that expanded restrictions and fees will ensure adequate turnover of spaces, making parking available for shoppers.
A survey of the streets around the Hunter Street Mall yesterday showed scant evidence of the demand they envisaged.
Inner-city business owner Cr Aaron Buman (independent) condemned the council's decision to time the introduction of tighter weekend parking regulations to coincide with the introduction of the markets.
"They should have waited to see how the markets went, then if there was a problem they could have introduced paid parking," Cr Buman said.
He said the alliance and the council needed to focus more on promoting initiatives such as the free CBD bus.
"How much would it take to print up some posters and hand them out to all the shop owners . . . but they don't do it," Cr Buman said. "It's like opening up a business and not advertising; it doesn't make sense."