Back in October last year, One Punggol Community Centre (CC) opened its doors to the public.
While it offers a multitude of facilities for those in Punggol to enjoy, one aspect of the centre did not sit well with residents.
There is reportedly a S$3.20 parking fee after 6pm, something that drivers are not very happy about.
Upon receiving the feedback, management has stated that they are looking into the issue.
Shin Min Daily News reports that the car park at One Punggol CC charges a S$3.20 parking fee per entry after 6pm.
Punggol resident Ms Li, 42, said that she decided to drive to One Punggol Hawker Centre the week before due to the rainy weather.
Source: Janil Puthucheary on Facebook
When she left, she was shocked to find out that she had to pay S$3.20 for parking.
Ms Li later discovered that the community centre charges this rate per entry after 6pm.
However, the parking fee before 6pm is the same as other car parks in the area, which is S$0.60 every 30 minutes.
She pointed out that residents could just be stopping by the food court for a short while to order takeaway.
Thus, she urged management to change the post-6pm fee to its daytime rate or at least lower it.
A quick look at One Punggol’s website shows their parking fees to be S$0.60 per 30 minutes from 12am to 5.59pm.
The fee then goes up to S$3.20 per entry from 6pm to 11.59pm. The first 10 minutes is free.
Another resident, 37-year-old Mr Wong, said he visited the centre the night before to order his food to go.
However, his parking fee ended up being more expensive than the meal.
He said that his food cost S$3, with a 10% discount lowering it to S$2.70 when paid with the hawker centre app.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Parking for 15 minutes, on the other hand, cost him S$3.20, which he labelled “unfair”.
As a community centre for the public, Mr Wong said the parking fee is far too high.
In comparison, Our Tampines Hub, a similar community hub, imposes a parking fee of S$2.40 per entry at night.
“If it can’t be lowered, can the 10 minutes of free parking be extended to 20 minutes?” Mr Wong asked.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, a spokesman for One Punggol said the car park has a total of 228 parking spaces.
The fees imposed are within the range expected at other car parks in neighbouring non-residential facilities as well.
“However, we are also paying attention to the feedback and needs of residents and visitors,” they added. “We will review the parking fee to ensure that it is more affordable.”
Meanwhile, some residents claimed they have seen motorists parking indiscriminately outside the area to avoid incurring the fee.
In response to this, the spokesperson said security guards are stationed there to prevent motorists from doing so.
This would also help to prevent any traffic issues at the centre.
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Featured image by MS News and adapted from Shin Min Daily News.
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