Sunshine Coast Council confirms 23 car parks may be scrapped in Eumundi

Staff walking more than a kilometre to work are worried fewer car parks in the heart of Eumundi will make it even harder for residents on non-market days.

Eumundi workers fear changes that could reduce parking spots in Memorial Dr will cost businesses trade from residents.

The Sunshine Coast Council has confirmed it could remove “no more than” 23 car parks.

Bec Amson, 30, has worked at a Memorial Dr cafe for about two years.

She said the changes would make it more difficult for residents to park in the town’s main street on non-market days.

“I feel like when it does happen, we’ll lose a lot of locals because they’ll struggle when they do come in to find parking,” Ms Amson said.

The single mum also said she could not afford to pay for parking on market days, at one of three designated pay-for-parking areas, and did not want to inconvenience others by asking them to drop her off and pick her up after work.

She said the parking situation already meant that she sometimes parked more than a kilometre from her work.

Fellow cafe worker Seth Anderson, 20, said he already got dropped off and picked up for his shifts.

Doonan resident of seven years Tina Mayfield said she did not venture to Eumundi on market days, which were Wednesdays and Saturdays.

She said she drove into town on other days to walk her dog and even scheduled her doctor’s appointments around market days.

A Sunshine Coast Council spokeswoman confirmed that in the draft streetscape concept design for Memorial Dr, “no more than” 23 car parks of more than 400 existing spaces would be replaced with landscaped areas to provide pedestrian crossings, trees, seating and outdoor dining areas.

Tina Mayfield often drives to Eumundi to walk her dog on Memorial Dr.

The spokeswoman said there was no intention to reduce carparking from two hours to one hour.

The spokeswoman said that council would review and update parking signage within the town centre to ensure it aligned with usage and business requirements.

The spokeswoman said the council had been communicating with the Eumundi residents, businesses and community groups about the changes since October, 2020.

She said construction was scheduled to start in early-2023 and not all the elements in the draft streetscape concept report could be delivered within the current project budget.

“Priorities for detailed design and construction will be based on community feedback, further design considerations, and construction market pricing,” she said.