Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio said a new multi-storey car park was a possibility in CBD

As more CBD businesses struggle to gain foot traffic, the council has outlined plans for the city centre in the next decade, including future parking ideas. See what is proposed here.

A dysfunctional parking system is one of the main factors behind the Margaret St boutique homewares store Lilly and Wattle Co closing its doors after two years, according to co-owner Amanda Harpur.

In a cry-out for changes to parking restrictions, 100 per cent of Chronicle poll participants said they avoid the CBD due to limitations, and Ms Harpur said it’s contributing to businesses closing down.

“Who would bother going to town, fighting for a park, paying for a park then needing to rush to have lunch in time so that they can get back to their car before a ticket,” Ms Harpur said.

“We would often get people commenting things like ‘I always drive past and want to stop but there’s never any parks’.

“The council think we are like Brisbane but really Toowoomba’s more like a big rural town and people just don’t have the extra budget or want to pay for parking so they go to where it’s free, like Grand Central, and shop the chain stores.”

Residents suggested additional family-run stores, accessible public transport and a possible pedestrian mall along Margaret Street would entice them to visit the CBD.

However, in the Toowoomba Regional Council’s City Centre Master Plan, the report said idealistic residents consider CBD parking to be “inadequate” unless they can park directly outside the business.

“To support the businesses in Margaret Street, Council needs to provide for the safe circulation of cars, cyclists and pedestrians throughout the city centre. As such, there are currently no plans to turn Margaret Street into a pedestrian mall,” Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio said.

“Council this year launched Smart Parking in the CBD to improve the customer experience of finding and paying for parking more convenient and efficient.

“Council will consider additional parking requirements as part of the Toowoomba City Centre Car Parking Strategy.”

In collaboration with third parties, Mayor Antonio mentioned an additional multi-storey car park may be constructed within the CBD in the future.

“As we continue to grow, we realise we will need to continue making further changes which is why we developed a Toowoomba City Centre Car Parking Strategy to look at what the future needs will be for our Region,” he said.

Smart Parking in Toowoomba's CBD is a step closer, with the installation of new parking meters to commence later this month. Visit https://t.co/142GwxNttP#trnewspic.twitter.com/9sl0feB0Q8

— Toowoomba Region (@toowoombaregion) May 17, 2022

Toowoomba LJ Hooker senior commercial sales and leasing executive Justin Eastwell said while some have the perception the city’s CBD is empty, the region is in the best spot it has been for a decade.

“Since Covid, there’s been a significant increase in CBD leasing,” he said.

“At the moment, the vacancy is very very low... there’s probably only one or two ground floor retail spaces available in the CBD.”

According to Mr Eastwell, it can take up to a year for businesses to move into spaces, hence the perception spaces are empty and up for rent.

Multiple factors contribute to spaces appearing available, including time taken for construction work, for tenants to create fit outs, for insurance payments to be processed, and more.

“Sometimes we have agreements on properties, but it can be five to six months before they can get in there,” Mr Eastwell said.

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl said improvements to the parking system were needed.

“It’s improved … (but) we would love to see some long-term three hour free parking on the eastern side,” he said.

“It’s not where we want it ultimately to be, and it’s fair to say there has been infrastructure work which has enhanced parts of the CBD, but a majority of those are private sectors upgrades.

Today we launched a ten-year review of the Toowoomba City Centre Master Plan.

Through online events and engagement, you'll be able to contribute feedback and ideas for the future of the Toowoomba City Centre.

For more info and to have your say, visit https://t.co/xXXdnpF3O0

— Toowoomba Region (@toowoombaregion) June 4, 2020

“It’s really businesses helping themselves. More public infrastructure, more wonderful work through Russell Street and longer parking would all be a benefit to the city.”

The council’s City Centre Master Plan is due for completion in 2030, and has already seen the redevelopment of Grand Central and completed projects included the city library, Good’s Shed and the Outer Circulatory Road on Victoria Street.

“To ensure we achieve this, Council intends to undertake a review of the City Centre Master Plan in the next year to provide further direction for investment in the CBD over the next 10 years,” Mayor Antonio said.