Summer Centre asks Council for parking patrols

Businesses in the Summer Centre have asked the council to start patrols to boost the turn-over of cars in the car park and to make parking more convenient for shoppers.

The car park, which has entrances from Summer Street and Sale Street, has a two-hour limit on parking throughout the car park, as well as a strip of 15-minute limit and disabled parking spaces alongside the main entrance to the shopping centre building.

Shopping Centre Manager Bill Kanellopoulos said the change will be good news for shoppers and retailers.

“There are now 15 businesses in the Summer Centre and they want to continue to see shoppers being able to find parking spaces conveniently,” Bill Kanellopoulos said.

“That’s why we’ve asked the council to start patrols by the parking rangers to enforce the parking limits.”

“The Summer Centre offers a range of retail options and it’s becoming very popular. As that growth happens we want easy parking to continue to be part of the mix that attracts shoppers.”

New parking signs have been installed, and for the first week, parking rangers will leave warning notes on cars which have overstayed the limit in the Summer Centre instead of a parking fine.

City of Orange Traffic Committee chair, Cr Russell Turner said it makes sense to have more consistency across the car parks of Orange, about how they are managed.

“We have time-limited parking zones so that the available parking spaces can be shared fairly between all shoppers,” Cr Russell Turner said.

“By making sure we have a steady turn-over of parking spaces, that will keep a steady stream of customers coming through the doors of local shops and make parking more convenient for shoppers.”

“There’s a popular myth that parking patrols are only about raising money from parking fines. I’d be happy if the drivers of Orange learned to park within the rules, and that the revenue from parking fines dropped to zero. This is about sharing the available parking spaces fairly.”

“When Orange drivers find a warning note under their windscreen wipers in the coming days, it will be the trigger that their parking habits might have to change,” Cr Russell Turner said.

“We’ll also have an electronic message board in the car park encouraging drivers to think about whether they need to adjust the way they’re using this car park.”

2 hours: City of Orange Traffic Committee chair, Cr Russell Turner with shopping Centre Manager Bill Kanellopoulos believed monitored timed parking would help businesses in the Summer Centre.