Tate Papworth
Keilor traders say they’ve been left in the dark over council plans to install parking sensors in Keilor Village.
The council began installing the parking sensors earlier this month, but Keilor Traders Association president Pat Senserrick said it was news to him.
“We haven’t been consulted at all, so if they are going ahead with it, it’s news to us,” Mr Senserrick said.
“This is a time when consumer confidence is at its lowest… a lot of people are hurting, the cafe trade is hurting and the last thing that looks attractive is parking sensors.”
Mr Senserrick questioned the need for parking monitoring within the village.
“There’s no issues with parking here… people don’t tend to stay more than they need to. It’s more the flow of traffic which is an issue and I’m not sure how parking sensors fix that.
“We’d like to know the justification behind this and to have been consulted… it’s pretty poor that we’ve had to hear about this through the media. It’s news to us.”
Brimbank council director of city development Kelvin Walsh said the council would inform traders and the community of the sensors when they get closer to activating them.
“The sensors, once installed, won’t be activated until current restrictions are eased. They are being installed during a quiet period to minimise disruption, and our contractors have advised they’ll be undertaking the installation in Keilor Village this Sunday night,” Mr Walsh told Star Weekly earlier this month.
“These sensors help us to monitor parking, to ensure all visitors to our local shopping strips have fair and equitable access to spaces. They also help us to better understand how parking spaces in our major centres are being used.
It comes as the council continues its campaign encouraging the community to shop local as many businesses struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic.
