Let’s talk about… parking in Wynnum. Wandering around Wynnum Central talking to shop owners and shoppers generally I often hear the phrase “Parking in Wynnum is terrible”. Depending on whether I’m looking for an argument, my response varies between “Oh?” and “Compared to what exactly? Parking in your driveway?”
The very idea that parking is an issue in Wynnum is laughable. Almost every time I come in I can park directly outside the shop I want to visit or pretty damn close. Go to any other (popular) shopping centre, park your car and then count the number of steps you have to take to get to the shop you want to visit. I bet it will be three times further away than any distance you have to walk in Wynnum. Nobody seemed to complain about parking when there was not one space available in Edith Street on the day of the market. It didn’t stop a lot of people coming down that day. No, parking really isn’t the problem.
Having said that, there is a sort of a problem with the parking that is signposted, that is the parking down the laneways. Signs like the one above imply that there is general parking available. But turn into one and look for a space. Good luck. Almost all the spaces are marked for use by specific shops. In fact in many cases it doesn’t even say they are for customers! So then you’ve wasted time driving in only to have to do a three point turn (or more – they’re pretty tight) and go out again.
In our view a blue parking sign with ’20 car parks’ written on it implies these are open public spaces, not all reserved. If any parking problem in Wynnum needs to be fixed, it’s this one.
What do you think? Do you agree? Or have we got it wrong? Let us know in our Facebook poll. Or tells us your experience in the comments section below.
