Duke Hotel owner Ward Gaiter is worried his pub is missing out on enormous amounts of business due to the lack of parking spaces in Fitzmaurice Street.
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It comes after council revealed a new rejuvenation strategy that would see Fitzmaurice, Gurwood and Trail Streets transformed into a bustling nightlife hub.
Mr Gaiter supports the strategy but thinks more needs to be done to deal with parking in the area.
“I know this end of the street is becoming a place for the foodies and I think (the strategy) is great,” he said.
“But it’s all going to be held back because people won’t want to come here if they can’t get a park.”
The Duke Hotel’s side of Fitzmaurice Street only offers one hour parking between 8:30am and 6pm, while the other side operates under a two hour zone for the same period.
Councillor Dan Hayes said new travel opportunities are being explored for the city in the integrated transport strategy and noted more parking spaces would clear up after 6pm.
“We need to talk about other ways into the city that aren’t through car, and the integrated transport strategy talks about not just relying on cars,” he said.
“The restrictions end at six o’clock and the signs apply Monday to Friday.
“I regards to the nightlife, a lot of parking will be available because a lot of the shops that do nine to five trading won’t have parking in front of them.”
However, Mr Gaiter said “it’s not about the one hour or the two hour” spaces.
“It’s about the physical amount of parks there are,” he said.
“People are not going to walk for a hundred metres. If they do, they’re going to pass another venue offering a similar service and go there.
“I’d like to see angle parking and that (median) island is great, but it doesn’t need to be as big as it is.”
