Whangarei District Councillors have approved the release of a draft Parking Management Strategy for public consultation, with the public invited to have a say before Friday 15 July.
Updated:
13/05/2011 5:04 p.m.
Two new multi-story car park buildings and a new charging structure for Whangarei car parks are just two of the options on which Whangarei residents and businesses will be asked to comment.
Policy Planner Nicci Webb says the Parking Management Strategy has been developed to deal with the increasing demand for car parking from the District’s increasing population, and to accommodate revitalisation works planned, or under way, in the CBD and Town Basin. “Having a well managed parking supply is an essential component of an vibrant CBD and Town Basin precinct,” she says.
The Strategy is a cross-council initiative involving staff from Roading and Planning, and comes at the end of a long process of research, discussion and reports.
Consultation will take place over the next month or so, beginning with an information campaign so that the current parking situation and the options in the Strategy are as widely known and understood as possible. “Our goal is to dispel the myths and improve understanding about the dynamics of parking in Whangarei city so that when people do come to make submissions – which we are very keen for them to do - they really add value to the process,” Roading Manger Jeff Devine says.
The first part of the consultation will include articles and advertisements in local newspapers and several public meetings, including one specifically for the business community. Submissions will close in mid July and the Council team is aiming to have the final version of the Strategy signed off by Council in September so that the improvements it will bring can begin to be implemented before the end of the year.
The Strategy is in two parts. The first part backgrounds information on the current parking situation, including the issues Council is dealing with, the vision and goals; while the second part outlines a number of options for dealing with it. The Strategy proposes a new pricing regime as the most effective way of managing the use of existing car parks. “The most desirable or convenient car parks would be the most expensive - to encourage a rapid turnover that would suit shoppers and visitors,” Ms Webb says. “The aim is to balance the needs of users so the most convenient parks are available for short term use.”
“With 3,500 car parks in the central business district and fringe areas, we consider the number of car parks is sufficient, but managing them is the challenge,” says Jeff Devine. “The average occupancy of car parks is just 40% (derived from revenue collected from parking), and 84% at peak times. We really need to have an average utilisation figure of between 70 and 90% in a city of this size – it does not make sense to go to the cost of providing more car parks when those we have are not being fully used.” This is likely to require a move towards a parking strategy, where charges reflect the demand for spaces.
Other options in the report include long term future plans such as the development of new car park buildings to service the Town Basin and CBD. This work could be done privately, by Council, or with a public/private partnership agreement. The possibility of selling the John Street Car Park and James Street Air Space is also discussed within the Strategy.
Rationalisation of existing parks in the Town Basin is already under way in the light of development there, while expansion of the Railway Road parking area is suggested to accommodate inner city workers’ need for long term parking.
A park and ride service for commuters and high use weekend sports situations is also under review.
"Providing more car parks is not necessarily the answer, efficient parking management is required," says Ms Webb.
Acting Mayor Phil Halse said he was delighted that the draft Strategy had received strong support from all councillors in adopting it for consultation. “What we are looking for now is a really high level of involvement in the consultation process. As councillors we listen to many people and it seems everyone has an opinion about parking in Whangarei. Now is the opportunity to understand the issues we face and make an informed comment about what should happen in future.”