From Friday, the more than 700 free time-restricted parks in the central business district will be reduced to 50 as the council brings in metered car parks.
Free time-restricted parks of five, 10, 30 minutes on Frederick St are set to be replaced by metered car parks, enabling drivers to park their vehicles for up to four hours.
"The system has worked well for 10 years. If it is not broke, why fix it?" the owner-operator of The Fix, Mandy Smart, said.
Like other retailers on the block, the espresso bar relied on the steady influx of customers who use the restricted parks, and a move towards metered parking could impact on the business, she said.
Mrs Smart said she only discovered changes were going to be made to the free parks when workmen began digging holes last Monday.
She was disappointed businesses were not consulted by the council.
On Thursday, Frederick St retailer representatives met council representatives, including Mayor Peter Chin, to hear the changes were signalled over a year ago.
Unichem Knox Pharmacy part-owner and pharmacist Trudie Scott-Walker said she, too, was unaware of the impending changes.
She was disappointed about the lack of consultation and notification from council.
The restricted free car parks were important for customers collecting prescriptions, and the move towards $3-an-hour metered car parking could mean the pharmacy would lose business, she said.
"We just want council to listen to us."
City Environment general manager Tony Avery said the concerns of Frederick St retailers had been noted, with the block to gain one more loading zone, enabling drivers five minutes to park and pick up or drop off goods.
Drivers could also park for up to five minutes for free in the metered car parks, but if they exceeded that period they could be fined $40.
While the changes had been publicly notified, he conceded the council should have notified each individual business earlier than Friday. The remaining 50 free parks would be outside areas where it was uneconomical to put a metered car park, or in areas near post boxes or hotels, he said.
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie lodged a submission with the council last year, saying the changes were "contentious" and asked for the council to contact each affected business.
Since installation of the new metered car parks, the chamber had fielded inquiries from concerned businesses. .
Mr Christie said he had an undertaking from planning and environment committee chairman Michael Guest he would review the impact of the parking changes on businesses on a case-by-case basis.
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