Mayor, chamber boss clash over paid parking ‘offer’

Mooloolaba businesses have been encouraged to consider paying for their customers’ parking.

Mooloolaba Chamber of Commerce president Graeme Juniper, left, and Mayor Mark Jamieson have faced off over paid parking plans.

Mooloolaba businesses have been encouraged to consider paying for their customers' parking.

Mayor Mark Jamieson said businesses should be looking forward to the opportunity to greet more customers, should the proposed paid parking fees for the new Brisbane Rd multideck carpark come into effect.

"If they wish, businesses can take the opportunity to pay for their customers' parking," Cr Jamieson said.

"Council will be very happy to work with them on that basis or provide some sort of incentives."

The revelation came after Cr Jamieson confirmed there would be no more community consultation on paid parking for Mooloolaba and Maroochydore's CBD.

Sunshine Coast councillors are set to meet on December 10 to decide on the fees and start date for paid parking to officially roll out.

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Mooloolaba Chamber of Commerce president Graeme Juniper said the mayor's idea of businesses paying for customer parking showed he was out of touch.

"The chamber is always open to working with council, but the chamber has advised if they put in paid parking it would be damaging to businesses in Mooloolaba," Mr Juniper said.

"The council appears to be not listening to that advice but rather continuing on without further discussion to ensure there is paid parking."

Brisbane Road carpark during construction. Picture: Patrick Woods

A recent report revealed council officers recommended users would pay $2.50 an hour to park in the new $18 million, multistorey Brisbane Road carpark from January 18, next year.

Other changes included areas from Venning St to Parkyn Pde, covering Beach Tce, Mooloolaba Esp, First Ave, Brisbane Rd, Burnett St, Muraban St, Smith St back to Hancock St, as well as The Wharf precinct, to become two hours or less parking zones.

"The information in the report in preparation for the meeting makes it clear that you either charge everybody whether you use it or not, or you actually charge the people who use it and the latter makes sense to me," Cr Jamieson said.

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"I think what's most important that nobody should forget is that we're putting 700 new carparks into Mooloolaba funded by borrowings of the Sunshine Coast Council and that needs to be repaid at some point in time and logically that will be repaid by those people who use it."

Mr Juniper said the mayor and councillors should understand that the carparks were available to not only the shops but to those who visited the beach.

"This is a shared facility for the entire Sunshine Coast and anyone who visits and that should not be the responsibility of a small bunch of retailers to pay for it but rather shared by the whole community who will benefit from the tourism and jobs created by Mooloolaba businesses," Mr Juniper said.

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