‘Nightmare’: Toorak traders urge compensation over car park closure

One day, business at Karlie Crow’s Toorak Village clothing shop was booming. The next, she saw foot traffic plummet and sales drop.

Crow decided to move her business away from Carters Avenue off Toorak Road after learning a Stonnington Council-owned car park opposite her shop would shut for three years during construction on a new development from James Packer-backed Orchard Piper.

Even though Crow expected to take a hit when the 43 spots were fenced off in late April, she was still shocked by how quickly customers stopped popping in.

“I’ve had to relocate my business in order to survive,” Crow said.

“The majority of my foot traffic at the old shop came from the car park, people parking their cars, seeing my store, coming in. Without that, I had zero visibility, I simply don’t exist.”

Crow has now fully moved Beach to Bar Wear to Toorak Road as she wanted to stay close to her existing customers. She is keeping her old premises as a storage space because her landlord reduced the rent, with plans for her to move back.

She supports the One Toorak Place development, which will include luxury apartments and a Chris Lucas dining precinct, but said moving was expensive.

George Tannous, owner of nearby Romeo’s of Toorak restaurant, said parking had become a “real nightmare” and his lunchtime trade dropped once the car park closed. He was disappointed traders weren’t consulted and fears the strip has not yet experienced the worst of the car park closure as it only happened a month ago.

“People walk in at dinner at 7pm going ‘Oh my god, we’ve been driving around for half an hour looking for parking’, so it’s already evident. Meantime, we’ve got 40 car parks around the corner, all fenced off, empty,” he said.

“All these restaurants are the opening up, great for the village, long term it’s fantastic. But right now, short term, where are these people going to park? Because they don’t all catch Ubers.”

The council will receive about $345,000 for use of the car park in 2026-2027 financial year, a decision made by the chief executive Dale Dickson who said it was due to reasons including protecting public safety, ensuring the shortest possible construction time and minimising disruption.

Crow and Tannous are among traders calling on the council to provide some form of compensation or financial assistance during the closure, with suggestions ranging from reduced permit fees for signs on footpaths, subsidies for paid spots or even rate reductions.

Toorak Village Traders Association president Don Gurr said while at first glance 43 spots did not sound like a lot, Carters Avenue had up to five car turnovers per day which added up to a significant amount of money not spent within the village over three years.

“The feeling is ‘it’s Toorak, you people can afford it’. Well no, it’s just a shopping strip like anywhere else,” he said.

“The people that own the shops and businesses pretty much do not live in Toorak.”

Gurr said traders had also been impacted by construction works on two other nearby buildings, footpath refurbishments and pandemic-related closures.

“It’s an accumulation of all these significant distracting events that’s kept people away, then all of a sudden we get a clear run of it and that one car park goes,” he said.

The loss of the Carters Avenue car park is a 17 per cent reduction in council car parks in the area. The Jackson Street car park on the other side of Toorak Road has 205 spots, with paid parking available at the St Germain building and Tok H Centre.

Crow said Jackson Street was primarily used by shoppers visiting Coles or Woolworths and was not big enough to support the wider Toorak Village filled with independent shops, service-based businesses and medical rooms which can attract elderly people.

Deva Shoes owner Amanda Robinson, who also reported a drop in foot traffic since the Carters Avenue car park shut, said one-hour street parking on Toorak Road was a challenge for customers wanting to visit multiple places.

“By the time they go to one appointment or do one thing, their hour’s up if they’ve got a spot. Otherwise, I’ve got customers who are doing laps repeatedly and then give up,” she said.

Toorak shopper Rhona Millar said finding a park near the retail centre had become increasingly difficult.

“This was my local for a long time but it put me off coming,” she said.

“I tend to park way down the road because I’m able to walk but if you look around the demographic seems quite elderly.”

However, Anthony Borya, who can walk to the village from home, said he rarely needed to pay for parking when he drives to the shops.

“Car parks are plentiful in the village,” he said.

In a statement, Dickson said the council understood the closure would be challenging for residents and businesses, but public safety was the biggest priority.

He said Stonnington would consider measures to support businesses but shared use outside of construction hours would not be possible as the builder Cobild would be using the car park as a works staging zone and storage area.

“While there will be some short-term disruption, this development will contribute to the ongoing vitality of Toorak Village through new housing, and dining choices, increased activity, and additional customers for local businesses,” he said.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.