Newtown Parking: Where to park in Newtown
One of Sydney’s busiest suburbs, Newtown is a cultural hub with heaps of great food, nightlife, and live events to get stuck into. But parking in Newtown is tough, especially on busy nights and weekends.
If you can’t avoid driving, here’s the ultimate guide on where to park in Newtown.
Where to park in Newtown
If you definitely need to drive to Newtown, you’ve got a few options. You can park on-street, or in one of a few dedicated car parks. Be warned, most of these are small and fill up quickly.
Street parking
There’s limited street parking available in Newtown, and you shouldn’t expect it to be easy to find a spot, especially on a busy night or weekend. Pretty much all of Newtown street parking is timed, and lots of it is paid.
For the best chance to park quickly, look for a spot a few hundred metres away from King Street and walk the rest of the way. Here are a few areas you could look:
Look for spots north of King Street, but south of Salisbury Road and Carillon Avenue (here’s a Google maps pin). This area is mostly residential with timed, free parking. Lots of the timed areas only last until the early evening, so you’ll have plenty of time for a night out.
The streets south-west of the Enmore Road-King Street intersection sometimes have parking available. Because those streets are so close to both of Newtown’s main streets, they fill up quickly. They’re also smallish streets, so drive carefully!
If your night begins and ends on the east side of King Street (near Dendy Cinemas or the Newtown Hotel for example) there’s parking to be found between King Street and Macdonaldtown station. There’s a lot of parking on Wilson Street near Carriageworks, but it’s still very heavily populated by local residents. Any further east than about Codrington Street and you’re looking at a long walk back to Newtown.
The roads south of Erskinville Road (east of King Street) should probably be avoided. There’s rarely parking there, and it’s a confusing hive of one-way streets that still confuse many residents!
General tips for street parking in Newtown
We can’t detail the parking availability for every single street. But if you’re going to try street parking in Newtown here are some things to keep in mind:
Read the street signs – Some parking metres have 15-minute free parking available, but it’s always best to read the signage. Google map’s street view can help you check out the street signs ahead of time.
Be prepared to pay – You can pay parking metre fees by coin or credit card so make sure you have payment on hand. This is especially the case if you find a park near or on King Street itself.
Leave plenty of time – Street parks are in high demand in Newtown. So, you won’t know if there’ll be a park available until you’re out looking for one! Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to look for a park.
Don’t park illegally – Whether it’s a no stopping zone or a GoGet pod, if you park illegally there’s a high chance you’ll getting booked. The council regularly send rangers out, even late at night.
Share with Oscar
If you don’t want to try your luck with street parking, Share with Oscar allows you to easily book cheap parking in Newtown from just $2 per hour. Share with Oscar works with businesses, car parks and homeowners with spare parking to offer rates that are over 30% cheaper than if you were to book elsewhere.
The platform has hundreds of options available in most parts of Sydney, including parking near The University of Sydney, St Peters and Chippendale. The best part is, once you’ve booked, you may rest assured knowing that you have guaranteed parking for the day.
Book cheap Newtown Parking via Oscar or check out their mobile app.
Dendy Newtown Carpark
Dendy Newtown Carpark is a 24-hour carpark located at 261-263 King Street, though entry is via Lennox Street. You can’t pre-book spots here, and there aren’t any discounts available. It’s best used for last minute or short-term parking and you pay by cash or card.
Parking fees (as of March 2023) are as follows:
0 – 1 Hour: $5.00
1 – 2 Hours: $9.00
2 – 3 Hours: $11.00
3 – 4 Hours: $16.00
4 Hours +: $22.00
Newtown Central Carpark
Newtown Central Carpark is located on King Street and is also good for short stays. There’s no pre-booking or discounts available and there’s a maximum vehicle height of 1.9m. It’s really best for shopping or evening parking.
Parking fees (as of March 2023) are as follows:
0 – 45 Mins: $6.00
45 Mins – 1.5 Hours: $8.00
1.5 – 2.5 Hours: $11.00
2.5 – 3.5 Hours: $13.00
3.5 – 4.5 Hours: $15.00
4.5 Hours +: $17.00
Enmore Theatre Parking
If you’re in Newtown, there’s a good chance you’re heading to a show at the Enmore Theatre. If so, you can pre-book parking via the Ticketek website to guarantee a parking space. This allows you to park in the carpark located at 110 Edgeware Rd. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the venue.
Spots are extremely limited so book well in advance. The carpark is open from 6.00pm to 12.00am on the day of the event.
Council car parks
There is a council run car park in Newtown with limited parking availability.
The Lennox Street car park has approximately 52 spaces, including 3 disabled parking spaces.
Edgeware Rd car park at Enmore is also council run and has approximately 42 spaces, including 1 disabled car park. Neither can be booked online.
Newtown Parking permits
A quick note on Newtown parking permits. You’ll need to be resident or business owner within the permit area you are applying for in order to be eligible for a parking permit.
The permits let you park longer than the time on the street signs. But even then, it doesn’t guarantee you a spot when it’s busy!
Park Me
Park Me isn’t a place to park your car, but it might help you find one.
Visit the website and type in the area you’re looking for. Park Me will show you the parking options available for the area selected, including distance from your destination, occupancy levels, rates and payment methods. It will also show you street parking options, reservation details and monthly rates if they are applicable.
There’s not much choice for all-day parking in Newtown, so this might be your best bet to find somewhere that’s near enough. Then you can walk or catch public transport the rest of the way.
Some general tips to parking in Newtown
Here are a few things to know when planning a trip to Newtown.
Why might you need to park in Newtown?
There are lots of reasons to visit Newtown. Newtown has a tonne of great restaurants, bars, night spots, and live venues. You couldn’t see everything in a year of going out every night.
You might get dinner at Thai Pothong before a show at the Enmore Theatre, then grab some gelato at Cow & Moon. Or you could enjoy mini golf with a cocktail at Holey Moley, feast on cheese at The Stinking Bishops , then catch the last quarter of the Swans game at The Bank Hotel.
Whatever your perfect night looks like, Newtown can play a role.
How hard is it to park in Newtown?
In a word? Very. King Street, Newtown’s main drag, is one of the most congested road’s in Sydney’s inner-west. As well as an entertainment precinct, Newtown is home to a large residential population, mostly medium density. That means there are a lot of private cars in the area.
Thousands of people in Newtown have given up owning a private car for services like GoGet, which began in Newtown. But car ownership in Newtown is still still above 61%. As a result, it’s often just as hard to find a spot a few blocks back from King Street as it is to find one on King Street itself.
How can you avoid parking in Newtown?
If you can possibly avoid taking a car to Newtown, you should consider it. Newtown is very well serviced by public transport, with train being the best option. In fact, there are four different train stations you can use, depending on where you’re heading.
Newtown Station is right in the middle of town, at the cross roads of King Street and Enmore Road. Erskineville and Macdonaldtown Stations are also close to King Street. St Peters station is on the South End of King Street, where you’ll also find a great range of restaurants, bars, and venues.
Newtown is also well connected by Sydney buses. There are multiple city-bound routes that you can catch from King Street or Enmore Road. There are also buses that will get you to Parramatta road, where you can catch to a north or west-bound bus.
Car Share parking in Newtown
You might notice a large number of dedicated parking spots for car sharing networks like GoGet. The only car allowed in these spots is the specific GoGet car that lives there. You’ll get a fine if you park there illegally.
Just remember – these car spaces actually create more parking in Newtown. Each GoGet removes 10 private cars from the area. That lowers demand for residential parking and makes it easier for you!
If you have a GoGet car near where you live or work (you can check here) then you can help reduce parking in your area by becoming a member! Even better, you’ll save on the costs and hassles of owning, and parking your own car.
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