By Tanya Faulkner
Local retail workers are dismayed as Knox Westfield refuse to remove parking charges at the local shopping centre.
Staff that drive to work each day, working across the centre’s retail and hospitality stores, have reported a number of issues since the parking charges were applied.
After speaking to several staff members across the centre, some of the consistent complaints revolved around the charges themselves, traffic in and out of the centre at peak hour, and the extensive time to return home after work.
One staff member said he’d been incorrectly charged by Westfield, and has now had to pay well over $100 in parking, in the three months of working at the site.
“I was charged $35 a few times after work, and it just happened automatically.
‘I’ve appealed it with Westfield but they said it could take up to a month to have any refunds,” he said.
The man also said his drive home to Bayswater has gone from 10 minutes to 25 minutes now that the barriers have been in place.
“Traffic has been getting backed up really bad, with some people calling the parking managers to have incorrect charges taken off, and getting stuck at lights,” he said.
Another woman, who only works casually at the centre, said the parking charges are making things difficult.
“That five dollars could be my coffee for the day or spent on my kids, instead of parking to go to work.
“On the days I have longer shifts, I try to park on side streets across the road to avoid the parking charges,” she said.
She also had concerns about the traffic, and what might happen at Christmas time.
“I park in one of the back car parks, which is already getting full and blocked with traffic, so I don’t know what will happen at Christmas time.
“We don’t pay for parking at Chadstone, which is a much bigger centre, and I think Knox just isn’t the right place for parking charges,” she said.
Another woman was also annoyed that the parking charges had been enforced already, despite the several stores still under construction and the many barricades that remain around the centre.
“They could have waited until the centre was actually done if they really had to put charges on, it’s unreasonable,” she said.
Several store owners and managers have also reported a reduction in customers or clientele since the charges were introduced, particularly those in the beauty industry and hospitality, where customers tend to spend more time.
Herald Sun reporter Kimberley Seedy spoke to Code 9 cafe owner Kelly Parker, who said her average daily takings have almost halved, going from around $1600 per day to $8 per day.
She said her regular customers have tried to visit, but haven’t secured car parks, and several other businesses near her are experiencing similar struggles.
Her, along with a number of business owners at Westfield, want the parking charges gone.
The public aren’t the only ones frustrated by the enforcement of the new parking fees.
Bayswater MP Jackson Taylor is also doing his best to make a stand for the community, taking their concerns directly to Westfield earlier this month, who still refuse to revoke the charges.
He said they’re asking for Westfield Knox to come to the table and listen to the thousands of people who have already signed a petition in opposition to this decision.
“I’m deeply concerned about the impact paid parking will have on hard working Knox locals.
$5 a day might not seem like much, but add that up over the course of a year, and full time workers may be hit with up to $1,300, just for doing their job,” he said.
Mr Jackson also has the support from Monbulk MP Daniela De Martino to try and convince Westfield Knox to revisit their decision, which is “far from what he would describe as being fair and reasonable”.
The pair will continue to do what they can to have the parking charges revisited, and are urging the community not to give up hope, and stay in contact with Westfield with their concerns.
