Hobart CBD parking: Workers turn down jobs due to lack of spaces
A Salamanca Place salon owner says prospective employees are turning down offers due to the dearth of long-term parking in Hobart, with some CBD carparks having wait lists of 12 months.
Hobart & South
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The owner of a busy Salamanca Place hair salon says worker shortages being experienced nationwide are being exacerbated in Hobart due to the dearth of permanent carparking spaces.
It comes as the Mercury can reveal Sultan Parking, which operates six car parks in the CBD, has a minimum wait of two to four months for permanent spaces in some of its parks.
One of its car parks, 82 Bathurst St, has a wait list for permanent spaces of over 12 months.
Scott Trousselot, co-owner of Some Hallucination Hair, said twice in 2022 he had offered jobs, only to be turned down on the basis of the lack of parking options.
“The last couple of times we advertised for new staff, the deal breaker for not joining us was long term parking,” he said.
“We are experiencing a staff shortage at the moment like all businesses and the lack of long term parking has made it even more difficult to compete with other businesses outside the CBD for staff.”
Mr Trousselot’s co-owner, Edwin Johnstone, formed Hobart Parking Action Group last year in response to the issue and is running in October’s local government elections partly on a platform of easing the woes.
“There is a supply issue with long term parking in the city and better public transport options can go some way to alleviate this, but some people still need to bring a car,” he said.
“As part of my campaign for Hobart City Council, I am calling for increased parking options on the Domain, in conjunction with a city loop bus service.
“There is currently an under-utilised piece of land between the aquatic and tennis centres, that can be used as a new long term carpark.”
Sultan’s six car parks costs between $250–$315 per month.
Its car parks at 133 Melville St, 2 Collins St and Vodafone Central each have a wait list of two to four months for permanent spaces.
At Montpelier Retreat the wait is three to five months, while Market Place’s is a hefty six month wait.
However, those wait lists are a blink of an eye compared to that at 82 Bathurst St – customers will be waiting one year to nab a space there.
City of Hobart chief executive Kelly Grigsby told the Mercury there were 685 long-term car parking space throughout the city, not including those owned and operated by private businesses or private property owners.
She also noted there were an additional 500-600 spaces, mostly unmarked, in open-air car parks “a short distance from the CBD”.
Ms Grigsby said the ongoing implementation of the City Deal’s Greater Hobart Transport Vision would reduce the need for additional long term parking by making public and active transport easier.
“In any city, there is a limit to the number of private cars that can be accommodated, and council’s efforts to promote micromobility, public transport, ferries, active transport and other mobility options will ultimately reduce congestion and make it more pleasant to visit Hobart for all visitors, whether travelling by car or otherwise,” she said.
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