New carparks and fees at Eastland Shopping Centre in Ringwood

SHOPPERS at Eastland Shopping Centre will have to pay for more than three hours of parking as state of the art technology is rolled out in the $665m redevelopment. TAKE OUR POLL

This story is about people buying property to be close to infrastructure. Please meet John and Sabrina Putman at the Ringwood site of the new apartment they have bought off the plan. Eastland shopping centre at the end of their street.

EASTLAND Shopping Centre will increase its car spaces by 1300 and put modern parking technology in place, as part of the $665 million redevelopment.

Paid parking will be introduced from February using licence-plate recognition, with the first three hours free. Cinema patrons will receive an extra hour and parking is free after 6pm.

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Store manager Steve Edgerton said parking at large shopping centres could be problematic and frustrating for customers.

The state-of-the-art guiding system and ticketless environment is expected to help shoppers get in and out quickly.

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It will use LED car space indicators and electronic display boards to advise drivers of available carparking spaces.

“The green or red lights at carparks will help create a seamless environment ... and it will help deter commuters and visitors who park at Eastland to access off-site facilities,” Mr Edgerton said.

“This will ensure maximum parking is available for customers and visitors.”

He said licence plate recognition would also calculate shoppers’ parking, so people could pay without tickets.

Stage 1 of the redevelopment will open in coming months.

EASTLAND PARKING CHARGES

In early 2016, Eastland’s rates for standard parking:

After 6pm — free

Disable parking permit holders — free

0-3 hours — free (cinema patrons receive an additional hour free on validation of cinema ticket)

3-3.5 hours — $3

3.5-4 hours — $4

4-4.5 hours — $5

4.5-5 hours — $7

5-5.5 hours — $9

5.5-6 hours — $12

6-6.5 hours — $15

6.5-7 hours — $25

7-7.5 hours — $30

7.5 hours and over — $30 (maximum daily rate)

Valet — $10 in addition to standard rates

Retailers (Transfer Car Park) - $4 per day