Pay to stay at Palmy

Hotel introduces parking charges in response to council restrictions

A Palm Beach business has been forced to introduce charges at its car park to avoid being overrun when council restrictions come into force.

The Palm Beach Hotel has installed pay stations at its car park between Palm Beach Ave and Fifth Ave and is charging motorists $2 for the first hour, $4 for two hours and $8 for more than two hours.

A spokesman for the Hotel’s owner, the ALH Group, said the paid parking introduced last week was to “help us better manage the car park there”.

If it wasn’t changed, the car park would be the largest free parking area at Palm Beach when Council interoduces one, two and three-hour parking limits in surrounding streets next week.

Palm Beach resident of 24 years Jennifer Mason said the hotel was within its rights to charge for parking as it was regularly swamped by people using other businesses.

However, she said people who commuted to Palm Beach for work often had to park more than 1km away from their office.

“For locals it is OK because we can ride our bikes and walk,” she said.

“And I know there will still be one park people can use all day but at the moment you have to get there at 4.30 in the morning to get a park.

“It is just full of tradies who are working on all the construction sites around Palm Beach.”

Palm Beach councillor Daphne McDonald said the restrictions would increase the vehicle turnover of parking spaces in high demand areas.

“It will also reduce congestion and the number of cars circulating to look she said.

“By offering a combination of free short and medium-term timed parking spaces in the core precinct, the city can manage the growing demand for parking and ensure that everyone has access to our businesses and beaches.” Liveability expert Stephen Burgess of MRCagney said it was a sign of a healthy centre when councils were forced to introduce the changes.

“It means it is a grown up town now. It means people want to get in there, however if it makes parking more available people who used to walk or ride their bikes might drive now,” he said.

“In villages where you have walk further, the streets to for parking,” seem more active because there are people in them, there is more of a social benefit and a retail benefit.”

Mr Burgess said resident surveys found parking was not a priority for most people in the community and should not be one of the council’s.

“Worrying about parking is the race to the bottom,” he said.

“People don’t go on holidays and come back and say ‘Vienna was great, the parking was only $2 a day’. They rave about the culture, the food and their experience.

“They would rather have a clean, green space with interesting and active things going on. People would walk over broken glass for a good active centre.”

Similar parking restrictions came into effect yesterday at Nobby Beach and will be introduced on July 23 at Mudgeeraba.