THE Msunduzi Municipality is aiming to transform the city CBD into a shopper’s paradise this Christmas by adding 50 new parking bays at the Church Street Mall.
Economic Development and Growth committee chairman Pops Chetty said the additional parking bays will go a long way to retaining businesses in the CBD and making shopping a pleasure for consumers who were often put off by the lack of parking space at the mall.
“Previously there has been limited parking at the Church Street Mall and around the CBD, discouraging shoppers to spend their time and money in the city centre.
“We are trying to address this problem by starting at the Church Street Mall and will move on to other areas as time goes on,” he said.
Chetty advised business people who work at the mall to find alternative parking as the bays are exclusively for shoppers.
“People who work at the mall will have to find alternative parking as they utilise the parking for the whole day and block shoppers from finding parking bays. This has to change and there are plenty of parking areas around the city for them to use.”
The additional parking bays are expected to reduce the traffic influx into the Church Street Mall during extended business hours — until 9pm at most stores in December. From Monday, the parking time will be increased from 30 minutes to an hour, allowing shoppers more time to park.
“Traffic officers will be on patrol at the mall to issue tickets to those who overstay this limit, alongside a strong police presence,” said Chetty.