BROADIE PARKING BAN PLAN

A GOLD Coast councillor wants to make almost all of Broadbeach a two-hour parking zone to stop tradies and contractors from hogging residential streets.

Cr Paul Taylor said workers at about five major development projects within a 2km radius were clogging roads.

Some residents say it has become so bad they can’t even accept visitors.

Cr Taylor said Broadbeach’s parking woes started during the Pacific Fair revamp and had escalated by work at The Star and other projects.

“My biggest concern is the construction management plans — where do the contractors put their cars?,” he said.

“They’re parking all over the streets and that’s what’s made it very hard for us. I’m getting letters all the time.

“I did ask the officers at a council meeting what jurisdiction have we got?”

Mr Taylor said while council asked contractors about their parking arrangements for builders, council was powerless to force them to abide by their management plans.

Council’s infrastructure committee last month recommended four zones across the Coast – including one in Broadbeach – should have strict parking limits.

Those who outstay their welcome would be slapped with fines of about $73 under that recommendation.

Broadbeach Senior Citizens hall caretaker Alan Fortunato said it was often difficult for patrons to find a car space outside the hall during the day due to the large number of contractors

parking in the area.

He said he supported a twohour limit in the streets around T.E. Peters Drive to address the problem.

“The senior citizens end up having nowhere to park in their own building. It’s a very annoying thing but there’s very little we can do.

“We’re trapped, the same as the locals. The locals can’t even have visitors visit them.

“It’s an absolutely crazy thing — we’re only five minutes from the tram line.”

A spokeswoman for Probuild Queensland, the contractor for work at The Star, said workers were encouraged not to park in residential streets.

“Probuild maintains strict parking policies for site workers to follow,” she said. “All Probuild-run site inductions note that the preferred parking location is the convention centre, available for $12 all-day.”

T.E. Peters Drive resident Brian Pollard said he was annoyed at the lack of parking spaces outside his block of units and would support a twohour parking limit if residents were given an exemption.

However, neighbour Margaret Wright said although parking was a problem due to builders and workers parking in the streets of Broadbeach, she thought parking limits would punish residents.