As a land owner and resident of the Byron shire, it is hard to have sympathy for the Byron Bay business owners who are still crying poor.
Business owners complain that they could lose business and go broke if council puts in paid parking.
Byron Bay business owners have been crying poor for the past 20 years, even though the annual number of visitors invading the town have more than tripled.
Since Byron United have been crying poor without paid parking, why not give paid parking a try?
Those tourists who can afford paid parking will also be able to afford purchasing in Byron’s very expensive shops and high priced cafes.
The gridlocked streets may turn into a shoppers’ paradise and attract more tourists who are willing to spend their money in a peaceful environment.
Council’s compassionate support for the residents of the shire with parking permits is most appreciated.
Paying for a parking permit is much cheaper than paying the higher rents that would come with the alternative option of raising land rates, instead of paid parking.
The people of the entire Byron Shire should not have to pay higher land rates or rent in order to support the business mentality of Byron Bay.
Most of the shire residents avoid going into Byron because of the gridlocked traffic from all those tourists who haven’t been eating or shopping enough to make business profitable.
As for the acclaimed employment opportunities in this tourist town, why do the European backpackers seem to get employment priority in the multitude of cafes and restaurants?
Paid parking and extending the parking time from one to two hours on all the main streets could solve traffic chaos and derive revenue from the millions of visitors who use our fragile infrastructure assets.
Lois Hunt, Broken Head
