Vermont Village shops: Traders’ anger over Whitehorse Council parking sensors

A group of traders in Melbourne’s east fear the introduction of parking sensors has put the future of their small strip on the line and will turn off shoppers.

Small business owners have lashed out at a local council’s “cruel” decision to install parking sensors at a shopping strip, fearing it will drive away customers.

Whitehorse Council has installed the sensors to monitor parking in 29 spaces at the Vermont Village shops on the corner of Boronia and Canterbury roads.

The strip is home to a collection of beauty salons, eateries and tattoo and massage parlours, with most parking spaces limited to one hour.

Shelley’s Hairworks owner Michelle Ambuwaru said the decision was “cruel” on traders and could drive customers away as they tried to avoid a $92 fine.

“Most of our services take anything from two to three hours, it just doesn’t help any of the businesses to stay afloat here,” she said.

“After two years of Covid, this is the last thing any business needs, a set of angry customers because they’ve been booked.”

The Beauty Extract’s Brooke Shaw and Morgan Harris also said they were worried about the impact the parking sensors could have on their customers.

Bruno Tassone, who has operated his newsagency on Canterbury Rd for 42 years, felt the move was purely a “money-spinner” for the council.

“It’s fine for my customers … but it will turn them off going into a place that takes time,” he said.

Vermont newsagent owner Bruno Tassone has described Whitehorse Council's introduction of parking sensors at his shopping strip as a “cash grab”. Picture: Kiel Egging.

“It’s half an hour (time limit) out here, and the restaurant next door was supposed to open for lunch on Thursday and Friday … you certainly can’t have lunch in that time.”

The council’s director of city development, Jeff Green, said demand for parking in Whitehorse was high and the sensors were installed “to support the efficient turnover of parking spaces”.

He said the council had been installing additional parking sensors in “various locations” across the municipality since last month, including shopping precincts.

Mr Green said council officers visited local residents and traders in affected areas and received “overwhelming support” for the rollout of the expanded program.

The council did not say where it had recently installed the sensors apart from Vermont Village, referring Leader to a list of locations on its website.