Westfield have outraged the retail drones that inhabit their shopping arcologies with a massive hike of long stay parking prices at both Woden and Belconnen.
The first two hours are still free for the shoppers, but the 7 hour plus is up to a Sydney like $30. By comparison the normally piratical Canberra Centre is only charging $14.
With the age of those most effected there is of course a Facebook protest group.
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cmdwedge said :
Only good thing about Chadstone Westfield is that you can go to the nearby Notting Hill Hotel rather than the mall …
cmdwedge said :
The difference is that there are no office blocks nearby. They don’t need to provide a disincentive for people to park there all day because there is no reason for people to park there all day (with the exception of a few people that work in its shops of course).
PBO said :
”Guards found in food court ” yeah right i have walked around there alot and never see security guards, when i have seenthem they are in carpark smoking and chatting with each other or flirting with female retailers, seen with my own eyes as have my children and friends.. Havent you seen them chatting young female staff up next time you are there watch. they should be ashamed they are to work not pick up, that what dating sites are for westfield guards
Paid parking in the town centres was an ALP policy that arose from its early 2000’s Transport Plan. By making you pay for parking, you will all catch the bus instead.
I recall a briefing from their consultant in 2008 on the ‘SUSTAINABLE Transport Plan’ that showed their estimates of how many people would choose to travel by bus with different (increasing) paid parking rates. It showed most people travelling by bus if parking rates were over 30 dollars a day. i asked if they really though tthis was likely, or was it more likely that the Liberals would say ‘we will lower paid parking’ and the ALP get voted out. The consultant said it was a modelling tool.
To make people use public transport it needs to be Frequent, Reliable and Attractive. You cannot punish people into using it.
Damien Haas
Chair – ACT Light Rail
Chadstone Westfield, the largest mall in the Southern Hemisphere, charges absolutely nothing for you to park as long as you like.
End result? Lots of people shop there, and the rents on the shops are astronomical. Everyone wins.
cleo said :
Newcastle would have to pay me.
Newcastle charge nothing!
They still have the Staff Parking…it is better now, it has gone up, but Public Servants are no longer allowed to use it as you have to be a retailer (and show proof of workplace) to get a card for the roof top parking.
Also, I’ve heard of cars that have driven through the boom gates or people raising them getting in trouble because they give the license plates to the police and they get done for the damage to the gate and how many people get out ( a friend of mine got caught doing this)…and also tailgaters are getting fined now too.
Most people dont stay very long in centres anyway, at least they are looking after the retailers and getting rid of the public servants!
Also, there are places in Sydney that charge $90 for all day parking or even $25 for 1.5hours!
when hubby started work at woden he started catching the bus. when he got jack of that, he got a motorbike. since westfield has taken over its become worse. I even prefer hyperdome over woden. they even charge on the sunday now, it used to be free.
and as for the belco vs woden debate, belco is a dive. Basically one lift the size of a shoebox for the whole place and travelators kilometres apart. not good for those with prams
mind you they both pale in comparison to the shithole that is westfield at hurtsville. that place is a whole new level of craptastic shitfullness. ugh.
Try Sydney int’l airport – $52 bucks for four hours…..Which I believe is the most expensive rate in Aus.
So, they are scrapping the four-dollar-early-bird staff parking on the rooftop? (At woden at least.)
Or i dont know, all the goverment owned 6-7 dollar parking spots are too good?
I call shenanigans. In the two years that i was a drone of westfield woden, i only once parked in the main-customer-carpark. Pffffffffffffft.
Sgt.Bungers said :
And to those of us that have to start work at 5am??
johnboy said :
Fair point johnboy but I’d be careful as I’m sure you are known as johno in real life!!!
Not even in the slightest.
Me no fry said :
Mate there is nothing bogan about Belco. You must be mistaking the Gunny for bogan central.
Any place that loses half its name to end in an “o” is as bogan as it gets.
p1 said :
Or a Lamborghini.
Get a motorbike, give the ticket to someone else who is about to leave so they don’t have to pay, then just ride past the boom on your way out.
When I worked in Westfield Belconnen a few years ago, I used to take a quick break every 1 hour & 50 minutes & exit & re-enter the carpark, therefore avoiding having to pay anything.
Luckily my boss was nice enough to let me do that.
So now the first two hours per day of each grunt-level retail employee with a car are now solely used for paying for that day’s parking?
For the privilege of going to work there, they get stung for having the job?
@Johnboy:
The verbs effect and affect are not interchangeable.
Who cares if they want to charge more, they cannot effectivly enforce it and sometimes it is just easier to drive throught the boom gate or over the gutter. You will find that the security carmeras in the carpark leave a lot to be desired and the “guards” are more often found in the food court.
It is awful that westfield charge their tennants rent according to their turnover.
I know it sounds steep, but $30 a day is about average for casual long-stay parking in most capital cities.
I would imagine that the fee hike is to discourage commuters from filling the carparks with the perhaps unintended consequence of hitting the retail workers – who in the most part would be looking at sacrificing the first two hours of each shift just to cover the cost of parking.