Traders urge compensation over car park closure
One day, business was booming at Karlie Crow’s Toorak Village clothing store. He then saw foot traffic decline and sales decline.
Crow decided to move his business away from Carters Avenue, Toorak Road, after learning the Stonnington Council car park opposite his shop would be closed. three years during construction On a new development from James Packer-backed Orchard Piper.
Although Crow expected to take a hit when 43 spots were fenced off in late April, he was still surprised by how quickly customers stopped coming here.
“I had to change jobs to survive,” Crow said.
“The majority of my foot traffic at the old store was coming from the parking lot; people were parking their cars, seeing my store, and walking in. Without it, my visibility was zero, I don’t exist.”
Crow has now moved Beach to Bar Wear entirely to Toorak Road as he wants to stay close to his existing customers. He keeps his old building as storage because his landlord reduced the rent and plans to return.
He supports the One Toorak Place project, which will include luxury apartments and Chris Lucas’ food court, but said moving was expensive.
George Tannous, owner of the nearby Romeo’s of Toorak restaurant, said parking had become a “real nightmare” and the lunch trade had fallen when the car park closed. He is disappointed that traders have not been consulted and fears the strip is yet to experience its worst car park closure, as it did just a month ago.
“People come in at 7pm for dinner going, ‘Oh my god, we’ve been looking for parking for half an hour,’ so that’s a given. By the way, we have 40 parking lots on the corner, all fenced and empty,” he said.
“All these restaurants are opening, great for the village, great in the long term. But right now, in the short term, where are these people going to park? Because they can’t all catch Uber.”
The city will receive approximately $345,000 for use of the parking lot in fiscal year 2026-2027; This decision was made by CEO Dale Dickson, who said it was driven by reasons such as protecting public safety, ensuring the shortest possible construction time and minimizing disruption.
Crow and Tannous are among merchants who have called on the city to provide some form of compensation or financial assistance during the closure; These proposals offer a variety of suggestions, including lowering permit fees for signage on trails, subsidies for toll points, and even rate reductions.
Don Gurr, president of the Toorak Village Traders Association, said 43 spots did not seem like a lot at first glance, but up to five cars a day were turning over on Carters Avenue, which equated to a significant amount of money that had not been spent in the village for three years.
“The feeling is, ‘This is Toorak, you people can afford it’. No, it’s just a shopping street like any other place,” he said.
“The people who own the shops and businesses mostly don’t live in Toorak.”
Merchants were also impacted by construction at two other nearby buildings, trail renovations and pandemic-related closures, Gurr said.
“It’s the sum of all these distractions that keep people away from important events, then suddenly we get a clear picture of the situation and a parking lot is closed,” he said.
The loss of the Carters Avenue car park means a 17 per cent reduction in council car parks in the area. There are 205 spaces in the Jackson Street car park on the other side of Toorak Road, and paid parking is available at the St Germain building and the Tok H Centre.
Crow said Jackson Street was mainly used by shoppers visiting Coles or Woolworths and was not large enough to support the wider Toorak Village, full of independent shops, service-based businesses and wellness suites that could attract older people.
Deva Shoes owner Amanda Robinson, who also reported a drop in foot traffic since the Carters Avenue car park closed, said one-hour street parking on Toorak Road was difficult for customers wanting to visit more than one location.
“When they go on a date or do something, if they have a place, their hours are up. Otherwise, I have clients who make rounds over and over and then give up,” he said.
Toorak customer Rhona Millar said it was becoming increasingly difficult to find parking near the retail centre.
“This has been my place for a long time, but it delayed my arrival,” he said.
“I tend to park down the road because I can walk, but when you look around the demographic seems pretty old.”
However, Anthony Borya, who can walk from home to the village, said that he rarely has to pay parking fees when going to the shops by car.
“There are many parking lots in the village,” he said.
Dickson said in a statement that the council understands the closure will be challenging for residents and businesses, but the top priority is public safety.
He said Stonnington would consider measures to support businesses, but shared use outside construction hours would not be possible as builder Cobild would use the car park as workspace and storage space.
“While there will be some short-term disruption, this development will contribute to the ongoing vitality of Toorak Village through new housing and dining options, increased activity and additional customers for local businesses,” he said.
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Rachael Ward is a journalist on The Age’s City team. Contact her at rachael.ward@theage.com.auConnect via email.
