The Shopping Centre Council of Australia has hit out at the 'hysterical claims' suggesting that new paid parking measures will affect trade.
With the recent introduction of 'managed parking' at Westfield Chermside, Brisbane, some feared this would deter shoppers – however one industry body says it anticipates the opposite affect.
Chief executive of the Shopping Centre Council of Australia, Milton Cockburn, said managed parking usually means the first two or three hours of parking are free and charges only apply after this time.
“The major purpose of a shopping centre car park is to deliver customers to the retailers of the centre,” Cockburn said.
“By discouraging commuters and other non-customers, including retail staff, these genuine shoppers will find it much easier to locate a parking space, thereby reducing one of the biggest complaints about shopping centres.”
Cockburn said the move will also reduce the chances that potential retail customers will be discouraged from visiting the centres.
Less than 10 per cent of customers spend longer than three hours at a centre so for the vast bulk of shoppers, this will not mean paid parking, Cockburn explained.
“There have been some hysterical claims - it's also particularly amusing hearing the criticism of some local councillors, whose outrage that people might have to pay for parking apparently does not extend to abolishing the thousands of council parking meters that help fund their salaries and allowances,” Cockburn said.
Retail staff will also have to pay for parking, but at a discounted rate.
Assistant executive director of the Shopping Centre Council of Australia, Angus Nardi, said in one member’s centre, managed parking resulted in increased turnover from one to five vehicles per day.
“Despite some hysteria, managed parking is not introduced on a whim and is the result of careful consideration of various issues that affect the performance of a centre,” Nardi said.
National president of the United Retail Federation, Scott Driscoll, has been a long time critic of the Westfield Chermside paid parking and accuses Westfield of 'cash grabbing' at the expense of Queensland consumers.