Parking meters have pumped more than $60,000 into Wollongong City Council coffers in just three weeks since the start of paid on-street parking in Wollongong CBD.
By Thursday of last week, $60,944 had been collected from the 141 "pay and display" ticket machines at 850 inner city parking spaces.
This equates to at least $20,000 each week, or an average of more than $4500 on each of the days that parking meters have been operational, excluding Sundays and the Easter public holidays.
EDITORIAL: $2 flat fee is just too much for too little
Drivers baffled by parking meter signsThe council has pledged to spend all the revenue on its Inner City Parking Strategy, including footpath upgrades, public transport facilities and new car parks.
A new car park in Ellen St and another in George St are scheduled to open this year.
The revenue bonanza comes despite criticisms from business operators that the city has been virtually deserted since the arrival of parking meters and claims that retail trade is down by anywhere from 20 per cent to 50 per cent.
The meters income is around 12 times higher than the $5180 that was collected for refugee support group SCARF during the three-week period before the official start to paid parking.
While many residents and shoppers have adjusted to the initial shock of dealing with the meters, they continue to be plagued by teething problems.
On Thursday, the Illawarra Mercury contacted the council about a one-hour ticket machine that didn't match the two-hour parking sign in Dean St, near Wollongong Railway Station.
The anomaly was detected two weeks after the Mercury first reported on the same discrepancy between meters and signs on parts of Keira, Market and Regent streets and Railway Parade.
On that occasion, the council's property and recreation manager, Peter Coyte, said the council would act to rectify the "anomalies", which he attributed to an error that occurred when contractors installed between 300 and 400 new signs in one weekend.
The council moved swiftly to amend the misleading signs in Dean St after it was alerted to the discrepancy last week.
"All signs in the city centre should now be correct," Mr Coyte said on Friday.
"In the next two weeks, council will conduct a final signage audit, checking more than 400 signs in the CBD."
Retailers and shoppers have also complained about meter malfunctions that have left some out of pocket and without a ticket.
David Saveski from Bar Pellegrini said the "pay and display" machine near his shop on Keira St had been malfunctioning on and off since the meters were installed and he was fielding countless complaints from customers.
"The introduction has not been smooth at all and it just adds to the confusion," he said.
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