CBD full as shoppers applaud free parking
FREE parking, the Masters Games and a visit from celebrity life coach Tony Robbins translated into one of the Cairns CBD’s busiest weekends in recent memory.
Cairns Regional Council’s decision to axe parking fees after 2pm on Saturday and all day on Sunday was a hit with shoppers and even earned an unsolicited round of applause for one local identity of the hospitality industry.
Fetta’s Greek Taverna owner George Karagiannis was out buying groceries when he received kudos for his public efforts to get paid weekend parking overturned.
“Funnily enough, I went to Woolies and heard people clapping,” he said.
“I looked around to see who was behind me and what was going on – but it was for me.”
The Rusty’s Markets regular said the centre yesterday was the busiest he had seen it in a year.
“I always come out to buy vegetables for the restaurant,” he said.
“I was talking to people and they said it was the busiest it had been in a long time.
“Someone else told me they had not been to the city in eight months, because the last time they did it was for their daughter’s birthday and they got a fine for being three minutes late.”
Mr Karagiannis said there was not an empty space outside his restaurant – something he had not seen since paid weekend parking was introduced at the start of last year.
“It’s full, and that is something,” he said.
Brinsmead resident Liz Piper was one of those shoppers taking advantage of the new parking freedom.
“It’s great that we have to pay,” she said. don’t
“But it’s annoying the council spent all of this money to do the signage and everything, and now it has to change again. “It’s more wasted money.” Cairns Chamber of Commerce president Nick Loukas said the parking decision and an influx of visitors for the Masters and a Tony Robbins seminar appeared to have had the city “pumping” again.
He planned to touch base with traders this week to gauge the full effect.
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