Four-hour carparking limits have been introduced at Sunshine Marketplace in response to increased customer complaints.
A shopping centre spokeswoman said the time limit was brought in after a spike in complaints about people using the centre’s 1700 carparks for all-day parking.
Sunshine Marketplace owner Vicinity Centres, which owns more than 90 shopping centres across Australia including Chadstone and Emporium, erected temporary signs on October 7 notifying people of the time restrictions.
“We have received a number of complaints by our customers about an increase in demand for these spaces by drivers not visiting the centre,” the spokeswoman said.
“Catering for the needs of patrons will always be our number one priority … given a recent spike in customer complaints regarding the lack of available parking, these new measures are designed to ensure Sunshine Marketplace remains a convenient and accessible shopping centre.”
The spokeswoman said no infringement notices had been issued yet as carpark monitoring had not started. She did not say when policing of the restrictions would begin.
Parking woes have increased in Sunshine with the opening in August of Brimbank council’s new community and civic centre, which houses the majority of council staff.
The nearby Brimbank multi-deck carpark has 248 spaces allocated for council staff, but those without their own carparks must find a spot elsewhere.
The temporary closure of the Sunbury train line between Sunbury and Sunshine stations on October 4 has also led to commuters who would ordinarily catch the train from any of the seven stations being serviced by buses to drive to Sunshine.
A study by national parking association Parking Australia has found people who use privately owned parking spaces for non-shopping purposes are putting retailers at risk of going out of business.
The survey, which was conducted last month by 120 retailers, found that one in three retailers were losing up to 20 per cent of revenue because their customer carparks were being misused.
