Pay twice the fare or walk double the distance: Cavenagh St carpark closure creates parking pain for CBD motorists

A DARWIN city worker has been forced to pay almost double the parking fees each day since the closure of the Cavenagh St carpark this week.

John McDowell has to pay double each day or walk twice as far after the closure of the Cavenagh St carpark. Picture: Glenn Campbell

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A DARWIN city worker has been forced to pay almost double the parking fees each day since the closure of the Cavenagh St carpark this week.

Motorist John McDowell said he used to park at the Cavenagh St carpark — which closed last Sunday after it was sold to Charles Darwin University — where he paid just over $25 a week. But now he is forced to scramble for a vacant park across the city, which could mean walking double the distance or pay twice the fare.

“Kon and co have gotten rid of 391 affordable carparks at $5.70 per day, what are they replacing them with? Everywhere else is $10 or more,” Mr McDowell said.

“Down on McMinn St that’s where I’m parked today, that’s under $5 a day but … it is across the other side of town for me.”

The changes mean if Mr McDowell parked at the State Square carpark every day for a year, he’d be paying a total of $2860, or $1378 more per year than he would at the Cavenagh St carpark.

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Price aside, Mr McDowell said removing the carparks was also creating too much congestion with no guarantee of where people could find a park.

“Not only have they gotten rid of 391 carparks that are affordable, you’ve got all those people trying to fit into the remaining carparks, which by 7.30 or 8 in the morning are all gone,” he said.

“Every day it was full, you just scramble to find a spot.

“If you work five days a week you’re looking at $55 to $60 a week as opposed to $25 to $30 a week. We just have to cough it up, there’s nothing else we can do.”

A Darwin council spokeswoman said on Wednesday there were almost 350 spare parking spaces clustered across the city.

“There were approximately 150 available parking spaces in the undercover Chinatown carpark and 100 spaces in State Square carpark,” she said.

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“Yesterday there was also ample available parking within Zone C (all day) at the Daly St end of the city.”

However, no relief will be provided to motorists who have been displaced from the Cavenagh St carpark.

CDU refused to comment on how long the carpark, which fell under its ownership from Tuesday, would remain vacant for.