Surry’s free parking faces an uphill battle.

Free parking could be removed in parts of Surry Hills if a trial on Albion Street, between Bourke and Crown streets, goes ahead.

“Residents believe it’s a trial that’s going to spread to other areas in Sydney. Once you remove free parking, there’s no going back.’ Said Brian Noad, member of the Nichols Street Community Group.

The trial would replace the existing free two-hour parking, with two-hour metered parking on weekdays, and four-hour meters in the evenings, at a rate of $4.50 per hour.

Residents with an Area 18 permit would be excluded from fees and time restrictions.

In a letter to residents, Council said the trial “is intended to improve parking turnover for residents and customers of local businesses, and deter long-stay commuter parking.”

Representatives from the City of Sydney’s Parking Services Department have confirmed that they are still accepting community feedback on the proposal, and are yet to make a final decision on whether or not to go ahead with the trial.

“On the surface it looks okay, but the deeper you go into it, no free parking in Surry Hills is not a good thing. At the moment, a lot of elderly people live on Albion street, and they need carers to come and visit them, so expecting them to pay $4.50 is a big ask,” said Albion Street resident Rebecca Brown.

Another Albion Street resident Iona Mackenzie, believes the move would be counter- productive to services for residents and local business.

“Considering the current state of the Sydney economy, this will dramatically discourage patrons to local businesses; ‘no parking, no business’.  Many businesses are fighting for survival in this recession,” said Mackenzie.

“We’ve lost quite a lot of business lately, but taking parking away probably won’t make much of a difference. We rely on local foot traffic more than anything really, and they just don’t seem to be stopping anymore,” said the owner of a café on Crown street, who preferred not be named.

“The new Bourke Street Cycleway will remove up to 90 per cent of parking spaces on Bourke Street, so Council needs to look at ways to make that money up, which is what we’re seeing in Albion street. They’re just greedy,” said Brian Noad.

Council has collected $158 million in parking fines since 2004, and another $104 million from parking meters in those five years.