News of the letters come as parking pressures across the city rise,echoing trends seen in Sydney and Melbourne.Credit:Heath Missen
“I have my doubts that that’s a genuine likelihood. I know that this loophole has been closed in other states ... if there is a loophole we’ll be closing it as quickly as we possibly can because I think this is something that’s being exploited.”
Examples of such letters have stretched from Woolloongabba and Coorparoo in Brisbane’s south to Albion north of the river,sent by multiple firms running parking lots for sites from McDonald’s and Coles to mixed-use apartment towers.
They come asparking pressures across the city rise,with parking spaces being rented for up to $1000 a month echoing trends seen in Sydney and Melbourne,due to what experts put down to development and lifestyle choices.
One of the letters sent to a resident this month,seen byBrisbane Times,threatens “legal fees” if fees owed for a payment notice placed on their windscreen late last year after briefly overstaying a one-hour limit were not paid immediately.
The resident,who asked not to be named,said they pulled into what they had seen labelled “customer parking” in the mixed-use apartment development before eating dinner at one of the restaurants,staying about one hour and 15 minutes.
Originally asked to pay $88,the cost jumped to $176 in the letter which followed this month from a “payment notices officer” with operator Care Park — which has not yet responded to a request for comment.