IGA’s Natalie Edgerton stands on Main Street with irked Pakenham traders from the Bakehouse and Cafe 127. Back from left, Jacquie Rossetti, Cam Allen, Michael Humphreys and Ro (who didn’t want her last name published). 67318
By Justin Robertson
LOCAL traders have forked out hundreds of dollars in parking fines in the past two months due to a lack of all-day parking around Main Street.
Disgruntled Pakenham shopkeepers and workers are being forced to move their cars during the day every two hours to avoid getting fined.
In the past eight weeks, three IGA workers have tallied a collective eight parking fines to the tune of more than $500.
Natalie Egerton has been issued three tickets and will be fighting all of them, citing “nowhere to park” as her reason for the fines.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous, it’s my third ticket,” she said. “We have to move our car during work time every two hours – but there is just nowhere to park.”
Ms Egerton said even when she moved her car – after it had been chalked by the parking inspector – she still got fined because the chalk mark was still visible.
One resident, clearly outraged by getting a parking ticket posted on the Gazette Facebook wall, “I was a few minutes late back to the car from a bank appointment and was hit with a $61 fine.”
“I will no longer be able to shop local until the lack of parking in Pakenham is resolved.”
But, IGA is not the only trader feeling the pinch.
Café 127 owner Michelle Matthes went to court last month to dispute her three parking fines and said all of her staff had been fined at least twice.
“My issue is they (council) haven’t given us ample parking in the first place,” she said. “Some of my customers have said if you can’t get a car park, you get a parking fine. That’s what is scaring people away. My concern now is how are we supposed to get them back?”
Ms Matthes said the major development behind Main Street has sapped all the available parking driving customers elsewhere.
Owner of the Bakehouse for the past eight years, Lyn McLatchie, said getting parking fines had forced her staff to park near Safeway.
“We close in the dark. I’ve got girls here and we’re expected to walk up to Safeway in the dark – it’s just ridiculous,” she said. “You can imagine when we’re busy I’ve got to let people go to move their cars and we all still get tickets.”
Pakenham Business group vice president Michael Porter said the shire had gone to great lengths to provide more parking options for the community and traders. “Traders should be walking to work and leaving the spots in front of the shops open for customers – they’re the ones that pay our wages,” he said. “In the short term, staff should be using one of the four car parks that have been made available by council.”
Cardinia Shire councillor, Collin Ross, said a few years ago traders had complained that customers would park in the same spot all day and that is when they introduced timed parking.
“We then had this huge campaign and enforced the time limits – people took it seriously and there were hardly any fines issued,” he said. “But then, we had a period of time we didn’t have a parking officer and what I think has happened, people have slipped back into bad habits.”
