Parking zone misuse frustrates business owner

Sienna B Boutique owner Kathleen Bullen said it only took a few weeks after opening in November for her to realise that the one-hour parking zone out the front of her shop was being misused.

She claimed that other business owners were parking their cars in the one-hour bays for extended amounts of time, and sometimes even all day.

A council spokesperson conceded that an issue that has been identified in regards to parking rules ‘is that some businesses are alerting other businesses when the rangers carry out time zone parking patrols’.

Mrs. Bullen said this has impacted her business as her customers cannot access the available parking out the front of her shop, and therefore choose to come back another time or not at all.

“[It] makes it hard when you’re trying to get a business off the ground,” she said.

“It’s very frustrating.”

Mrs. Bullen said she can’t even get a park out the front of the shop early in the morning to drop off stock so is forced to carry it across the road from where she parks her car all day in the carparks off Cumberland Street.

And she said she’s not the only business being affected.

“[Fixing the problem] would benefit everybody along here, not just me,” she said.

Mrs. Bullen said she raised the issue with council, after noticing a lack of presence from parking rangers in the area.

“We see him [the ranger] once every blue moon,” she said.

“It’s part of the culture knowing that the parking officers aren’t here.

“People think because this isn’t the hub, it [obeying the rules] doesn’t matter.”

While she said electronic parking sensors would be better, she is just asking for more presence of the rangers in the area to discourage people from breaking the rules.

“That would alleviate it a little bit,” she said.

 A council spokesperson said that council rangers carry out time parking patrols in the Cessnock CBD on a weekly basis and issue penalty infringement notices for non-compliance with the Road Rules 2014, as resources permit.

For the month of March 2015, 24 infringements were issued for ‘park continuously for longer than permitted’ within the Cessnock CBD timed zones, which includes Vincent Street.

Cessnock Chamber of Commerce president Geoff Walker said while he believes parking infringements in Vincent Street are a problem, it is a ‘double-edged sword.’

“If everyone does it the street gets congested,” he said.

“But it’s about appealing to the greater good of people.

“It’s up to the business owners to talk to their staff and be mindful.”