Locals say Mount Barker Council has taken too long to fix Hahndorf’s parking after it reveals plan for 90 new spaces
A decades-long parking crisis in a tourist hotspot has residents questioning whether they’ll be forced to pay for parking in their own street.
Residents and traders at Adelaide’s premier tourist town fear being forced to pay to park at their shops as the local council considers paid parking to help ease long-term congestion.
Mount Barker Council’s new plans to tackle Hahndorf’s parking woes include 80 to 90 new carparking spaces at 108 Mount Barker Rd, 4100sq m of land it bought last April for $2.3m.
It is also considering new on-street parking along the northern side of Mount Barker Rd, between the Carl Nitschke carpark and Ambleside Rd.
But residents say the council has acted too late in executing an effective parking management plan, despite parking in Hahndorf having become severely strained during weekends, holidays and major events – often reaching full capacity.
“It’s not a new issue. There have been several opportunities for council to act on this issue for the last decade,” Cathryn Nitschke told The Advertiser.
No ‘Park n Ride’ for commuters also created a “massive problem”, Ms Nitschke said.
“There’s lot of people from the surrounding area who come to Hahndorf, leave their cars all day behind shops and take up car spaces for the customers,” the business owner said.
“The parking has become so bad that some landlords have taken matters into their own hands and started putting in paid parking at the back of the shops … because their customers couldn’t get a park anymore.”
The council believes paid parking may help with quicker turnovers and encourage off-street parking for longer stays.
Another local business owner Shirley Robinson welcomed the parking management plan, but said residents need to park in the main street.
“If they want to … go to the doctors, go to one of the shops … it’s basically saying that we as residents will have to pay to park,” she said, adding council needed to consider resident exemptions.
She feared paid parking would push visitors closer to nearby homes and visitors will “just park outside our houses”.
Council said paid parking wasn’t intended to raise money but would help offset the cost of new parking infrastructure.
Phil Burton, the council’s general manager infrastructure and environment, said any paid parking considerations would require more off-street options and alternative for visitors.
“We’re very aware of the risk of pushing cars into residential areas, and any solution must avoid worsening the situation for locals,” Mr Burton said.
Under council’s new plan, it would first build about 30 to 40 spaces at 108 Mount Barker Rd, between the existing building and creek line.
About 50 extra spaces would go on the north-eastern side of the creek with a new culvert over the waterway in the second stage.
The heritage-listed property on the site would remain. A digital wayfinding system would help visitors find available car parks.
An offer by wine legend Wolf Blass to build a free carpark was withdrawn in June.
When asked for a response to local concerns, the council directed The Advertiser to council documents.
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Originally published as Locals say Mount Barker Council has taken too long to fix Hahndorf’s parking after it reveals plan for 90 new spaces
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