Introduction of paid parking at Mermaid Waters Shopping Village on Markeri St

Paid parking at a tiny suburban shopping village? It seems crazy, but this is the new reality for the Gold Coast.

If ever there was a sign that parking is at a premium on the Gold Coast, this is it.

The introduction of paid parking at Mermaid Waters Shopping Village on Markeri St may not break the bank, but it’s certainly significant that free parking is no longer an option even at tiny suburban shopping strips.

To be fair, the first two hours of parking come at no cost and it’s only $5 for two to four hours and $10 for four hours-plus, but I’m still a little shocked. Have we really come to this?

The shops currently house a medical centre, a real estate agency, popular eateries and cafes like Lucky Bao, KL Dining and Rafiki, plus a butcher, newsagency and various small businesses.

New opening Mercado and local favourite Evive operate in a separate section of the busy corner with their parking unaffected.

Secure Parking began operating the facility on January 20 at the request of the landlord, listed as Sunny Star Investments, the previous operator of Yuen’s Fruit Market where the medical centre is now housed.

Paid parking has been introduced at Mermaid Waters Shopping Village on Markeri St on the Gold Coast.

Secure Parking said there was no plan to install entrance gates at the centre but motorists were required to download an app to pay for parking, with inspectors regularly checking the lot and issuing fines if parking was not paid.

Look, the landlords are well within their rights to implement this system, I’m just surprised it was necessary.

Other than staff, I would think few people would park for more than two hours and surely the landlords would not want to negatively affect those hospitality operators?

But it seems this is just the latest site to fall victim to parking pressure.

While suburban Mermaid Waters might be an unexpected location, apparently it’s joining the ranks of Burleigh and Coolangatta where the odds are better of purchasing a winning Lotto ticket than finding a beachside park.

The City of Gold Coast’s State of the Transport Network report showed that nearly 80 per cent of all on-street parking in Burleigh Heads on any given day would be occupied by 1pm, with Coolangatta the next worst with 76 per cent of spaces full, followed by Broadbeach and Palm Beach, both at 64 per cent.

This report was released two years ago, so I can only guess that those statistics would be worse now.

But this is not a plea for more parking lots.

After all, where are we even going to put them?

If there is any space to be found in this city, let’s prioritise housing first. Speaking of which, it would be lovely if new developments could at least service the parking needs of their residents.

Paid parking has been introduced at Mermaid Waters Shopping Village on Markeri St on the Gold Coast.

However, the bottom line is that we need to change the way we move around this city.

We can’t grow more land, but we can reduce our parking needs.

The light rail is crucial to freeing up more land and space in the city. Yes, the tram takes up its own space, but it removes so many more cars – and ideally the need for car parks – from the city.

To be fair, there is a concern that suburbs surrounding the tram line will themselves become giant parking lots, which is why the council is considering parking limits. The emphasis should be on riding a bike or using a rideshare service to get to the tram station, not driving to it.

Regardless, it’s still a massive space-saver compared to the alternative now being touted of an electric bus-tram transit centre in central Burleigh Heads, rather than a continuation of the tram line with its relatively small stations.

City sources have said this centre would be “massive”, with the size requiring a central site like the existing popular Burleigh bowls club.

Further, the preliminary business case for light rail stage four to the border showed that buses would only be a stopgap ­solution, and unlike light rail, be operating at near capacity by 2041.

Beyond the light rail route, electric buses have a huge role to play in connecting the rest of the city – and we have to learn to make them a part of our daily lives.

Certainly 50c fares have helped … and my guess is that paid parking will be a further incentive to leave the car at home.

Space in this city is at a premium, so let’s use every inch wisely. The truth is that no matter which route we choose, there will be a price to be paid.

Originally published as Introduction of paid parking at Mermaid Waters Shopping Village on Markeri St