Lake Macquarie council decided to install the time limit on the eastern side of the street in an effort to improve access to local businesses.

The one-hour parking will apply between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to noon on Saturdays.

Council said it investigated the possibility of time-limited parking restrictions on the street's western side and found that "the current parking arrangements were operating suitably".

The news has been welcomed by shop owners in the street.

Fiona Kellehear has been a business owner at Watkins Road for more than a decade.

Mrs Kellehear said during this time she had seen added pressure put on local businesses by cars parked in the same spot for weeks at a time, which blocked up the street's parking and access to the stores.

She wrote to council about the issue in May.

"Something had to be done for shopkeepers, because the shops were just dying."

Mrs Kellehear said it was fantastic council had listened to Wangi's shopkeepers and hoped the new rules would increase passing traffic and customers.

"If a potential customer can't get an easy park, I believe they are more likely to visit a large out of town supermarket where it is almost a one-stop shop," she said.

Vita Cafe and Restaurant owner Michelle Acoten-Habone said the changes were necessary.

"A lot of businesses [along Watkins Road] rely on a quick turnover of people, so we're all for it," Ms Acoten-Habone said.

Wangi Hardware proprietor Sonja Dyke-Clark said the new rules would benefit her customers.

"People like to park right in front of the store, especially if they are getting something heavy like bags of cement, so they don't have to carry them far," she said.