JAMIE-LEE ROWLEY
On March 27, stage two of the Burleigh Heads ParkInCentre Scheme was introduced to manage high demand for parking.
Local retail business owners are finding customers are less inclined to peruse stores, as time is a key factor for customers.
Bird On A Wire Owner Rachel Bellamy said customers are deterred by meters and parking infringements.
“We’ve noticed our customers actually saying that they don’t come down as often because of how expensive it is, or how hard it is to find a park, purely just because they have got more than one ticket in a short space of time,” she said.
The Freedom State Owner Mandy Bell said she is in two minds about the changes to parking in Burleigh Heads.
“There’s that part of me that loves the parks in Burleigh and I don’t want it to transform into this big concrete jungle but then there’s that part of me, as a worker here, that sees it’s a nightmare to find a car park,” Ms Bell said.
“There’s that parking up behind Flaey’s, but that’s not enough for the workers so, since the paid parking has come in, I’m finding that there’s a lot more rotation.”
“But people are coming in and leaving, they are very aware of leaving.”