Paid parking at Mitcham Square shopping centre divides shoppers and traders Kingswood resident Brian Blanton, with son Jack, says paid parking at Mitcham Square shopping centre will be "frustrating." SHOPPERS and traders are split over the introduction of paid parking at Mitcham's biggest shopping centre. The paid parking scheme was introduced at Mitcham Square last week in a bid to curb the number of city commuters clogging the shopping centre's carpark, as reported by the Mitcham & Hills Messenger on adelaidenow.com.au. Under the plan, shoppers at the Taplin-owned centre are allowed to park for free for the first two hours in the outdoor carpark and for three hours in the underground carpark. Motorists wanting to stay longer will be charged a $4 fee to park between 9am and 5pm. Some shoppers welcomed the move, saying it would deter commuters from using the centre as a "park and ride." Others said the time limits were not long enough and would drive legitimate customers away. Kingswood resident Brian Blanton, who uses the centre four times each week, said he would continue to use the centre. "It would be frustrating if you came here for lunch and got a fine," he said. (But) I've never noticed (parking) being a problem. Hawthorn woman Kerry Bills said the move spelled the end for the centre. "I think rest in peace Mitcham Shopping Centre," she said. There are four empty shops - they should be encouraging people to come to the centre not deterring them ... there's a lot of small businesses there that will suffer as a result. Daw Park resident Rachel Noolan said she did not mind the new rules. "It's way easier, rather than circling the carpark for a park," she said. Wallis Cinema Director Jim Filipovic said he had organised meetings with Taplin Real Estate Director Andrew Taplin on extending time limits for movie-goers. "At this stage we're not happy," Mr Filipovic said. We will be sitting down with Taplin in the next couple of days. Certainly we will be trying to look at extending the hours to a minimum of four hours and whether we can do something for people that go to the shopping and go to the cinema at the same time. A straw poll of traders, who did not want to comment publicly on the matter, showed they were concerned about the implications for their businesses. A cafe owner at the centre said it was already driving away business. "Customers have come in just make a point to me "We're going home now, our three hours is up,"" she said. The business owner said she was also concerned for her staff who might resort to on-street parking. Mr Andrew Taplin said the move was made to stop people from parking at the centre all day and catching public transport to work.