Freeloading jackpot ends for Star parking
THE days of free parking in Broadbeach are over, with fees being introduced to the suburb’s last unmetered carpark.
The Star Gold Coast have blamed a booming population and an uptick in abuse of its facilities for the introduction of fees, which will come into effect on November 22.
While the fee structure is still being finalised, Star chief operating officer Jess Mellor said the company’s hand had been forced.
“We have made a genuine commitment to holding off introducing validated parking over many years,” she said.
“We are the last establishment left in Broadbeach to offer free parking, but the growth of the city and an increase in long-term parking abuse, has made it necessary to act.
“People have been parking at our property to catch public transport or walk to their workplaces, take taxis to the airport and even store their vehicles for long periods of time.”
However, some free parking will remain during offpeak periods, with fees introduced as demand increases inside the Broadbeach Island complex.
Ms Mellor said the population growth was putting pressure on its facilities.
“We believe our planned parking controls are fair and our guests will welcome the change, as it will ensure car parks will be available to them as opposed to other people, who do not use our facilities,” she said.
“We take great pride in being a must-visit tourism destination but finding a car park has become increasingly more difficult.
“We have newly opened restaurants, bars, The Star Residences apartment accommodation and theatre shows all attracting up to 20,000 visitors every day, so we need to maintain a turnover of car parks to ensure guests can access convenient parking.”
The State Government and Gold Coast City Council have both consulted with the Star about improving public transport around the hotel and casino complex during off-peak periods at night.
The Star is the latest entity to introduce paid parking in recent years following neighbours Pacific Fair and Main Beach’s Marina Mirage which in 2018 received council approval to install boom gates in a bid to clamp down on public parking in the high-end complex which its management said was causing problems.