Westfield Warringah Mall to get ticketless paid parking

Ticketless carparking is set to be introduced at one of Sydney’s biggest, and oldest, shopping malls. See what it mean for motorists.

Westfield Warringah Mall at Brookvale is set to introduce ticketless paid parking to make parking “easy and convenient”. Picture: Annika Enderborg

Paperless paid parking is set to begin at the biggest shopping centre on the northern beaches.

Scentre Group, the owners of Westfield Warringah Mall, is scrapping parking tickets issued to shoppers at boom gates.

Instead, state-of-the-art automatic number plate recognition technology will keep track of cars — and calculate parking fees — in an effort to improve management of the 4600-plus car spaces at the Brookvale centre.

But the new $13.5m technology upgrade to the Mall that opened in 1963 has a small catch.

Motorists who leave a car park before the 3-hour free parking period is up will have to wait a minimum amount of time before they can re-enter for another period of free parking.

Scentre Group has a standard re-entry time of 45 minutes at its other shopping centres with ticketless parking.

“The ticketless car park control system prevents long stay parkers from resetting their parking time by exiting and re-entering,” according to a planning report lodged to Northern Beaches Council in January.

There will still be a period of free parking at Warringah Mall. Picture: Virginia Young

It was approved on April 11 and will include 11 ticketless entry lanes and 19 ticketless exits, according to a plan of management lodged with the development application.

The plan states that ticketless parking will “ensure a turnover of shopper parking spaces” as well as improve car park efficiency.

A multi-level car park at Warringah Mall, seen from Pittwater Rd. Picture: Adam Yip / Manly Daily

“There are generally no boom gates on entry lanes to the car park, however these are installed on some entry lanes to prevent vehicles intentionally leaving through the entry lane to avoid

payment,” the plan states.

If a shopper has stayed within the free time period, the boom will open automatically as they leave a car park. Those who stay more than three hours will have the choice of either prepaying for parking at an automated pay machine as they walk to their car or completing the transaction at the exit to the car park, via the use of a credit/debit card reader at the boom gate.

Customers who want to check how long they’ve been parked can enter their number plate details into the automated pay machines located at major access points to the centre. Shoppers will also be able to use the mall’s electronic directories to check their elapsed parking time.

Parking will be free for drivers entering after 6pm.

Warringah Mall at Brookvale showing the extensive outside carparking area in 1975 — 12 years after the centre first opened. Picture: Supplied

A Westfield Warringah Mall spokesman said customers had told it that accessing easy and convenient parking was important to them.

“We are tailoring the parking offer to take into account local factors, including demand and our location within the northern beaches community,” he said.

“Proposed works include introducing an improved parking management system to ease congestion, streamline entry and exit points, and improve our customers’ overall experience. “This plan ensures a free parking period remains available to our customers.”

Originally published as Westfield Warringah Mall to get ticketless paid parking