Park at home, get fined

Council all ready to introduce new timed zones

RESIDENTS in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach could be fined for parking outside their own homes with the Gold Coast City Council set to introduce four new timed parking zones.

The council’s City Infrastructure committee yesterday recommended council introduce the zones which will cap parking to two hours on weekdays between 9am and 5pm.

One zone near the airport will extend the time to a maximum of four hours parking. Fines for those who park over the time limit would start at $73.

The recommendation comes after the council decided to sell the Bruce Bishop Car Park in Surfers Paradise last week.

City Infrastructure Committee chairwoman Dawn Crichlow said some zones were already in place and new zones were an expansion of the parking permit scheme.

“(We are) moving (cars) on and getting people to get on public transport, that’s what we are all about,” Cr Crichlow said. “Because people can’t get into these areas so therefore they are too congested so we are going to regulate.”

Residents and their visitors will be eligible to get permits for unlimited parking whenever they want.

The number of permits residents are eligible for depends on the type of home and the number of off-street car parks available. But those living in buildings with more than 20 units will not have access to any parking permits.

The traffic areas include the coastal corridor between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct at Southport, Varsity Lakes between Lake St and Christine Ave and at the airport from Gibson St to Musgrave St.

The committee also recommended the current Southport Traffic Area be expanded.

Two temporary zones at Cbus Stadium and Main Beach from Sundale Bridge to the intersection of Ferny Ave and Main Beach Pde will restrict parking during major events and game days.

A city spokeswoman said the parking inspectors would continue to monitor the parking zones once they were introduced in February next year.

The proposal received a mixed reaction from the city’s business leaders yesterday.

Southport Chamber of Commerce president Laird Marshall said he was not sure how the parking zones would be received.

“I would like to see something like that initially trialled for three months,” he said.

The plan did receive support from Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall who said that two hours was a reasonable time for people to visit businesses and that encouraging people to use public transport “is a good thing”.

The new parking zones will be decided on at the full council meeting on June 13.