Traders located in Maitland’s $19million Levee precinct said their businesses are under serious threat of viability and point the finger squarely at Maitland City Council for its disregard for the city’s car parking crisis.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Traders contacted The Mercury in yet another attempt to vent their frustrations about dwindling trade, illegal tradie parking and council’s inaction to remedy the situation.
They said their constant pleas for council to fix the problem falls on deaf ears and they are further frustrated by council’s willingness to approve housing estates on the city’s fringes without providing adequate car parking for an already embattled retail hub.
Business operators who spoke to The Mercury called for a meeting with council to discuss construction of a multi-level car park and urgent action to remove “Levee furniture” which would provide parks in the short term.
Ironically the traders’ plea came in the same week council announced it had appointed consultants to undertake a parking study – another move that has raised the ire of traders.
“I can’t believe council has wasted ratepayers’ money engaging consultants to carry out a study to get answers on something we already know we need,” said Patrick Lane of Ken Lane Menswear.
“This has been an issue for about 30 years but it seems too hard to organise. From my point of view the solution is simple – we need a multi-storey, central car park as soon as possible,” he said.
Mr Lane said the council-owned car park flanked by Church and Elgin streets would be an ideal site – another, the Riverside Car Park behind The Imperial Hotel.
“A multi-storey car park on the site with ground floor retail, a cafe or restaurant promenade facing the river similar to the Yarra’s South Bank, King Street Wharf or Darling Harbour would be a goldmine,” he said.
Council has engaged GTA Consultants to undertake a parking study to “understand the overall position on parking in Central Maitland and identify future opportunities”.
Council’s Engineering and Design Manager Kevin Stein said council wants to hear the community’s thoughts and perceptions on parking and their ideas for the future.
Another trader John Lee said The Levee in its current form is not financially viable for retailers. “For two weeks in December there were about 14 work trucks parked on The Levee taking up valuable spots,” he said. “Council has complained about retailers and workers doing this in the past, but turns a blind eye to tradesmen.”
He said shoppers are not game to park in The Levee because of its half-hour limit. “They don’t think they can get their shopping done in that time and are worried about getting fined.”
Mr Lane said council seems incapable. “For all the staff it has you’d think it would be able to do things themselves instead of commissioning someone else,” he said.
“The ratepayers deserve better and giving us answers on things we already know is not an effective use of ratepayers’ money.”
Mr Stein said an open engagement process is being undertaken with a particular focus on Central Maitland businesses. “Businesses have the opportunity to offer their input via the survey, but they will also have a further chance to have their say if they attend the workshop specifically for business owner/managers later this month,” he said.
Have your say at maitlandyoursay.com.au or engagement pop ups on February 19 at Pender Place, (10am to midday) and Maitland Library (1pm to 3pm).
