What an act of bastardry is paid parking in Byron Bay.
I can put up with the crappy roads, the grid lock traffic, the ‘we’ve given up’ look about the place but little did I realise the horror paid parking was going to be.
I now add $3 to the cost of my daily newspaper and my coffee has just gone from $4.50 to $7.50 once I add in the parking.
And a favourite pastime of browsing the bookshop is limited to an hour and charged accordingly.
I didn’t think anything or anyone could upset my love of Byron but our mighty council is doing just that.
Interestingly I went to Ballina today and drove on good roads, enjoyed a revitalised main shopping strip, grabbed a great coffee at the Lighthouse Cafe – and didn’t pay parking anywhere! Maybe Byron Council should visit Ballina and see how it’s done?
Ross McGregor, Newrybar
it is becoming quite clear that Byron shire council does not want people to drive to Byron , maybe we should use public transport . ha ha
Byron council is hopeless! They have been making bad decisions for along time now. Sad.
Ross
It is understandable why you are angry. I visited Byron Bay a few days before paid parking was introduced. I went to a movie, a cafe and the beach. But I had an unhappy sort of day because I knew that due to paid parking I wouldn’t visit much anymore.
It’s not only the expense of parking fees. The council’s comments (which sounded like dog whistling to me) about wanting to stop hundreds of thousands of day trips to the shire have genuinely made me feel unwelcome. It feels like a social cleansing program has been implemented. Perhaps it has. Because quicker than you can say crypto fascist regime the town has changed
yep, it leaves a bad taste.