RESIDENTS and business owners in Faber Plaza Taman Desa are upset over the introduction of parking fees in the area, which has for the past 30 years offered free parking for everyone. 

The new parking system came into effect this month, but without consensus approval from unit holders of the plaza.  

“The management corporation had at a meeting proposed that the parking be privatised but we did not agree to the idea.  

“Nothing was discussed further with us and they went ahead with it,” said coffeeshop owner Kong Cheong Shu.  

Licensed to charge: Asiapark began to implement parking fees at Faber Plaza Taman Desa on Jan 8 with a licence from City Hall.

The residents claim that the parking bays in the area are common areas that belong to all unit holders. 

“Everyone pays quit rent to cover the area. The committee says that they want to collect money to upkeep the maintenance but they should at least consult us first. All decisions must be based on owners‘ approval and none of us agreed to the idea of privatising the car park,” Kong explained.  

Business owners are now concerned about the effects of the parking fees on their business. 

“I can say that my business has dropped by at least by 50% since the implementation of the new parking system. When customers realise that they have to pay parking fees now, they would just reverse their cars and go eat somewhere else,” said Calvin Chong, who runs a restaurant.  

“It’s plain and simple math. Sometimes customers just want to come in for a drink. Now they have to pay extra for the drinks. Obviously they would go somewhere else,” he added. 

Businesses like restaurants, florists, mini markets and film processing outlets are aplenty at the plaza and these are the shops that have been badly hit. 

“Customers are constantly on the go because they just want to pick up a few things at the shops. Previously, they could just park their car in front of the shops and quickly leave after that. Now, it is a hassle because they have to pay for parking and that takes up their time,” said mini market owner Daniel Ho.  

“I think regular customers who have been with us for the past 10 years or so will definitely not accept the idea that they now have to pay for parking. This is supposed to be a friendly neighbourhood but now it has become so business-like,” Ho added.  

The current parking system charges 60 sen for the first hour and RM1 for every subsequent hour. There is a 15-minute grace period.  

“There have been inconsistencies in the collection of fees. My customers have been complaining that they were charged higher rates even though they were only in the car park for 10 minutes,” recalled Ho. 

“It seems like they are just charging as they like.” 

The business owners now demand for more transparency and smoother flow of communication between the management corporation and unit holders. 

“At least they should send out notices in different languages rather than just in English because we have business owners who don’t communicate in English. There should also be more transparency and less procedures just to get our grievances heard,” said Kong.