Melbourne shopping: fresh food and gluten-free shops and better parking wanted at Croydon Main St
It’s one of the outer east’s busiest shopping strips and is visited by superheroes including The Hulk. But readers want some changes and more shopping options along Croydon Main St.
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Better parking conditions, fresh food traders, gluten-free shops and night markets is what shoppers want to see on Croydon’s Main St.
Maroondah Leader asked regulars what improvements they would like to see at Croydon Main St on its Facebook page, which produced more than 170 responses.
Parking on Main St and time limits in surrounding streets were a hot issue.
Matt Schwab called for more spaces and Sharyn Jakowitz said it was “a nightmare” to find a spot.
Jo O’Callaghan said parking conditions in the strip’s one hour spots were “a joke”, while Chris De Jonge called for two-hour parking at each end of Main St.
A new $15 million multi-deck carpark to service Croydon railway station commuters will be built on existing spaces on Devon St, behind Main St shops.
The carpark, which will boast almost 500 all-day spaces, was announced in February and Maroondah Leader understands construction will begin in the second half of 2020.
Other suggestions included calls for a green grocer, butcher, delicatessen, a craft supplies shop and a cafe selling gluten free products.
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Mabel Craig said “Less coffee shops and $2 shops, more everything else”, while Amanda Rose Brunton suggested closing the street to traffic occasionally for night markets.
Croydon Main St spokeswoman Marta Makkai said she was pleased and thankful for the public’s feedback following Maroondah Leader’s call-out.
She said Maroondah Council was working on an enhancement plan for Main St which she hoped would come out soon.
“Most (comments) are related to infrastructure, which is responsibility of the council and we’ll feed it back to them,” she said.
Ms Makkai encouraged those frustrated with Main Street’s parking avoid one-hour spaces.
“Our customers need to understand that those spaces are for quick shopping … if they want to sit down and have lunch or dinner or something else, it’s better to park at the back of the shops.”
“We have enough parking at the back, but more is coming.”