UPDATE
Parking woes are still hitting hard in Watton Street, according to traders who say loading zones in front of their businesses are driving customers away – or at least the fines are.
They say signs are few and far between, and customers have started getting fined for parking for as little as five minutes to grab a coffee.
Between 7am and 10am, Monday to Friday, two loading zones, on either side of Watton Street between Wedge and Bridge streets, knock out eight car parking spaces on one side of Watton Street and six spots on the other side.
Parking in a loading zone carries a $152 fine.
Wyndham council claims the zones have been there for a long time, but traders say there have been no issues with them until recently.
Traders want the council to make signs more prominent and specifically colour the loading bays to alert drivers.
Watton Cafe owner Mohammed Haddara said the zones were in effect during the cafe’s busiest time, which was bad for business.
“It’s a small sign and people come in for breakfast in the morning and don’t see it,” Mr Haddara said. “They should at least put bigger signs there.”
Anand Luhar, who runs grocery store Patel Brothers, said he was considering relocating once his lease runs out next year.
Mr Luhar said at least three customers in recent weeks had complained to him about being fined for parking in the loading zones.
“There’s restaurants along here where diners can come after 5.30pm and park for three hours, but people struggle to get parking here during the day.”
Loading zones in place for years
Wyndham chief executive Kelly Grigsby said the loading zone restrictions had been in place for many years.
“The only change has been the decrease of restrictions for one hour on one side of the road,” Ms Grigsby said.
“This occurred mid‐last year and we expect that the presence of the loading zones has become more apparent to motorists as we also installed corflute signage on the poles to alert drivers to the restrictions.”
Ms Grigsby said the council had given out 279 fines for drivers flouting the loading zone restrictions in Watton Street between January 1, 2015, and February 29, 2016.
“This equates to an average of five fines per week, which is not out of the ordinary for a busy location such as Watton Street.
“It is important for motorists to take note of loading zone restrictions as businesses rely on these spaces to be able to move stock in out of premises.
“The additional signage was installed to remind drivers that restrictions are in place to avoid getting a fine.”
