Castle Towers Ticketless Parking Leaves Staff Out in the Cold

Castle Towers rooftop parking access from new designated staff parking for major retailers.

Staff at Castle Towers shopping centre are left out in the cold as they transition to paid ticketless parking.

Staff at Castle Towers have been very vocal online with their thoughts on the staff parking and feel as though Castle Towers management are doing very little to assure staff they will be looked after appropriately.

It was announced in September last year that Castle Towers would be introducing ticketless parking in 2017 as part of their $900 million redevelopment.

At the time of this announcement Centre Manager Martin Ollis, spoke to Hills News and said “We predict less than 10 per cent of our customers will pay for parking.”

During these announcements and updates regarding the redevelopment, not much had been said about what it would mean for staff other than that they will be paying for parking.

Speaking to centre staff member Zoe Benham, she revealed that staff had not been informed about the designated parking areas or confirmed staff parking rates until two weeks prior to them being implemented.

“Every day it seems myself and my co-workers have new questions to ask about the staff parking and we aren’t getting any answers. It really seems as though they haven’t really thought it through, especially in terms of us [centre staff],” Miss Benham said.

Aerial view of Castle Towers taken from Google Maps with two circles showing the two designated parking areas for major (small circle) and minor retailers (big circle).

For now major retailers such as Myer and JB Hi-Fi have been allocated a small area of the yellow rooftop carpark but the stores that aren’t considered to be major retailers have been allocated the outdoor gravel carpark at Les Shore Place.

Staff were allowed a grace period of free parking between the initial implementation period, however, now staff are expected to pay $7 for working shifts more than 4 hours in duration. This includes the staff of retailers that have been designated to park outside the centre at Les Shore Place.

Staff parking rates will only apply to those who have a valid account on the Castle Towers Community Portal and have registered which retailer they are employed by. This account is linked to their number plate and if that number plate is scanned parking in another area of the centre other than their retailers designated area, full parking rates will apply.

Since ticketless parking begun, the complaints from staff have not stopped. The Castle Towers Community Portal for staff has been flooded with concerns and complaints since staff were informed of the staff parking rates and the allocated parking areas.

Screenshot of a staff member’s post taken from Castle Towers Community Portal.

Centre Management were contacted with some questions being asked by centre staff and in a response from Centre Manager Martin Ollis, it was stated “The safety and security of staff and retailers at Castle Towers is very important to us, and something we take very seriously”, it was also mentioned that the parking rates are, “in most cases a lower rate than our nearest competitors”.

As the Christmas period fast approaches the centre will only become busier with an influx of new Christmas casual staff. This is of concern to centre staff as they are worried there will be not enough space to accommodate for the large crowds of Christmas shoppers as well as the centre staff.

Originally published on https://thecollaborativesix.wordpress.com/2017/10/17/castle-towers-ticketless-parking-leaves-staff-out-in-the-cold/