Paid parking will go ahead at Griffith Airport, despite some objections. Photo: Griffith City Council.
Griffith Council will introduce a new hourly, daily and weekly fee to park at the town’s airport, despite a push from some councillors to allow cars to stay there for free for the first 24 hours.
While parking is currently free and unlimited at the airport, Griffith Council voted to introduce a ticketless paid system in August last year.
On Tuesday (28 January), the local government body voted in favour of endorsing the following pay structure recommended by its director of sustainable development, Joe Rizzo, which will come into effect before July:
Less than 60 minutes – Free
Hour – $2.50
Day (24 hours) – $12
Week – $65
Maverick councillor Mark Dal Bon thought these fees were too high, saying they would encourage people to park outside the airport gates for free and walk to their plane.
“Free parking is only 60 minutes; people are going to end up having to pay if planes are delayed,” he said.
“We should have at least 24 hours of free parking.”
Cr Anne Napoli agreed.
“I’m considering the people that have to go to Sydney for medical expenses, this will escalate their costs. I think $65 a week is too much,” she said.
Cr Tony O’Grady, who is part of a committee that considered airport fee pricing, said he also originally pushed for a first day free model.
But he said others on the committee argued this would significantly reduce revenue, which was needed for future upgrades of the terminal – such as bag screenings and security.
“Twelve dollars is still much less than our counterparts in Wagga, Dubbo and Albury. You can still get dropped off and picked up for nothing,” he said.
He also addressed the complaint circulating on social media – that much of the airport carpark is dirt and people shouldn’t have to pay for an unpaved space.
Cr O’Grady said revenue from collecting parking fees could be used to extend the tarred section, but this might not be needed if parking fees deterred overuse of the facility, so people would no longer have to park on the dirt.
Councillor Christine Stead supported the proposed fee structure.
“There are so many cars that are there long-term; they park there for months on end. This will enable them to move away and we’ll end up with more parking out there,” she said.
Cr Laurie Testoni agreed.
“Nobody wants to pay but they love to leave their cars there for free. So this is a good compromise,” he said.
Cr Dal Bon asked how the new fee structure would impact on hire car companies, who take up a number of spaces close to the terminal.
Mr Rizzo said these companies paid a leasing cost based on the number of vehicles they had on-site. If they used more than their allocation, they’d have to pay the same new airport fees as members of the public.
Councillor Scott Groat clarified that the hourly fee of $2.50 is only for the first four hours, after that the daily rate of $12 kicks in. So if you park at the airport for say, seven hours, you only pay the daily rate of $12.
Similarly, parking for six days costs the weekly fee of $65, not the daily rate of $12 for each of the six days ($72).
Cr Dal Bon moved an amendment to change the fee structure so that the first 24 hours were free. This was voted down, while a majority of councillors supported the fee structure proposed by Mr Rizzo. Only Crs Groat, Dal Bon and Napoli voted against it.
