THE days of rail commuters sneakily parking at the Raby Bay entertainment precinct are over, with illegally-parked cars to be towed away from next week.
Impounded cars will be expected to pay a towing and storage fee of about $500, depending on how long they are held in storage.
Raby Bay Harbour Body Corporate spokesman Kent Beal said the area would carry signage and a caretaker would identify cars being left for long periods, some of which were already known.
One car deemed to be abandoned had already been removed. It had so far accrued costs of $2000.
Mr Beal said Raby Bay tenants reported that illegal parking was impacting heavily on their businesses.
"We've had numerous tenant meetings and it's always about car parking,'' he said. "It's the major issue here.''
Mr Beal told a Redland City Council meeting that parking was woefully inadequate around the harbour and the Cleveland Railway Station, especially on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The proposed railway development on state government land would exacerbate the problem, with just 120 car parks proposed for 124 units.
Mr Beal said his experience as a developer showed that most of the proposed units would be bought by investors and rented out, meaning there was a need for twice the number of parks proposed.
At one of his own Cleveland developments, the council had asked for 20 parks for 20 units but he put in an extra 12, knowing they would be needed.
Mr Beal said the council should place conditions on the railway station developer and the government to provide adequate parking.
He said there was an option for a basement car park to be built below Raby Bay's Harbour Park, with the developer and government to pick up the costs.
The state government has backed a major eight-level, mixed-use development at the railway station.
The complex, which is yet to win council approval, will feature penthouses, units, tourist accommodation, a gymnasium, coffee shop, convenience store and 163 public car parking spaces.
A further 120 car spaces will be built for unit owners and, according to the Cleveland Centre Master Plan, the project must integrate public transport, making provision for buses, taxis and cyclists.
Mayor Karen Williams has said the development would be one of the largest and most important for Cleveland.
It was still being assessed and parking issues were being investigated as part of that process.
