Sean Standen and his wife have just leased a private car park for $300 a month to escape the parking squeeze in Newcastle's west end.
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The couple both work in the area and need to collect their daughters from day care and preschool at Wickham.
"We don't have an option; we have to drive," Mr Standen said.
"Sometimes I have to park illegally because there aren't enough parks."
"If you look at the number of buildings that are going up compared to the number of parking spots that are disappearing, it doesn't add up," he said
The Hunter Business Chamber called for a review of city's parking strategy this week in response to concerns from businesses and commuters about the loss of about 1000 parking spaces across the city centre in recent years.
Despite the frustration, an analysis of parking spaces in the west end shows there has been a net gain of 21 spaces in the area since last year.
This is made up of an additional 66 car parks in Steel Lane, 38 car parks in Station Street, Wickham plus 104 new car parks that will be opened at the Throsby car park in coming weeks.
The Throsby car park will eventually be closed at a date to be determined.
The area's parking stocks will receive a further temporary boost when a 650-space car park opens at the bus interchange on the former Store site later this year.
The public car park will operate for about 12 to 18 months before it is reserved for residents and workers in the two 30-storey towers Doma plans to be built the site.
Martin Smith, who works at Honeysuckle, said he was sick of having to arrive earlier and earlier to secure a park at the Throsby car park.
"There have been days when I arrived after 8am and I drive around town looking for a park and end up driving home," he said.
"My office is trying to organise a park for me but they are like gold dust around here. I'll probably end up working from home more often."
- Martin Smith
"My office is trying to organise a park for me but they are like gold dust around here. I'll probably end up working from home more often."
It is likely many of those who are unable to park at Throsby will try their luck at the 200-space No. 2 Sportsground car park, which City of Newcastle says has an average 70 to 80 free parking spaces each day.
James Low began parking there a few weeks because he was consistently missing out on a car park at the Throsby car park.
"Everyone in the office is talking about how difficult it is to get parking," he said.
"The revitalisation that is going on is fantastic, but they haven't considered where people who work here are going to park. Not everyone has the option of walking to work or catching public transport."
"Businesses will look at moving elsewhere if their employees don't have anywhere to park."
At a broader level, City of Newcastle figures show initiatives such as the park and ride service from McDonald-Jones Stadium combined with a 23 per cent increase in public transport patronage, which includes light rail, have resulted in seven per cent drop in transactions on the council's 2,000 on-street parking metres.
"The under-construction bus interchange will only encourage more bus trips when it opens," a City of Newcastle Spokesman said.
"Cycling commutes to the West End will also become more popular when the Wickham Park to Union Street cycleway is delivered and as new developments include end-of-trip facilities."
The spokesman said the council was working to free up about 30 spaces for short-stay paid parking on the Darby Street side of Newcastle Art Gallery and in the Newcastle mall car park. It will also add another 30 spaces to the Wharf Road carpark opposite Scratchleys if a proposal to rezone an adjacent block is approved by council.
"It's worth noting also that the Stockton Ferry has become a very popular mode of transport with 34,000 extra rides last year," the spokesman said.
But the Hunter Business Chamber has called for a review of the city's parking strategy to ensure the best solution is achieved for the city's parking needs.
"The feedback we are getting from business is that the approach to addressing parking in the city seems very ad hoc and what is needed is a strategy that responds to shifts in demand and behaviours that have occurred as a result of the significant changes in the CBD. Also, there are a number of developments in the pipeline, including the university's second city campus, that will bring a lot more people into the city," chamber chief executive Bob Hawes said.
"Council has a focus on encouraging sustainable transport options such as public transport, cycling and walking but its transport and planning strategies also recognise the need to have a mix of solutions that meets the demands of users and does not compromise the viability of business centres."
"Some of the decisions around parking availability seem to have assumed a higher take-up of public transport or car and ride-sharing options, and autonomous vehicles still seem a fair way off, so we now need a better understanding of the current and projected demand for parking post-revitalisation.
"The chamber would like to see a comprehensive review of parking strategy for the CBD that takes into account all of these factors."
Scratchleys on the Wharf owner Neil Slater echoed the chamber's sentiments.
While he welcomed the revitalisation of the city, he said a workable long-term transport solution, which included adequate parking, was yet to be achieved.
"You do not create a vibrant city by making it difficult for people to move around it," he said.
"A lot of people come to my restaurant from Lake Macquarie and Maitland. They are not going to walk four or five kilometres in their heels or with their 90-year-old mother."
He said the potential of light rail was yet to be achieved because it was not adequately integrated with car parking.
"It's one thing to say we have light rail but how are people meant to get to the stops?," he said.
"Melbourne has one of the best public transport systems in the world and they have parking stations near the major stops."
The business chamber has also lent its support to the investigation of a new multi-level car park in the city.
"Historically, a multi-level carpark was proposed for the west end of the city, even before the CBD revitalisation plans were developed. That wasn't part of the final plan but if there was a willing investor, it could perhaps still be part of the solution," Mr Hawes said.
Businessman Jeff McCloy previously floated concept plans for three new parking stations in the city centre after a survey of businesses identified a lack of parking as a major disincentive to working in or visiting the city.
The new parking stations could be built at the former Dairy Farmers Corner (455 spaces), land behind the former Wickham train station at Honeysuckle (630 spaces) and a parcel of land that incorporates an existing car park at Perkins Street (231 cars).
The potential nine level Honeysuckle car park falls within the footprint of the University of Newcastle's Honeysuckle campus development.
Mr McCloy said he had the concept plans prepared in late 2018 after receiving the results of a survey that asked businesses how they had been affected by the revitalisation process.
The survey, which he commissioned, found that while many endorsed the principle of increased public transport use, they also complained that the city had become increasingly difficult to access.
"The talk about creating a vibrant walking city is rubbish; the state government has strangled this city. There are 60 empty shops on Hunter Street today. They are empty because people can't get to them," he said.
"The state government created this mess and they have to fix it."