Why Is the Council Scaring More Away from The CBD?

 

parkI’ve been got mixed feelings about the Auckland City Council plan to extend on-screen “pay and display” operating hours to 10pm in the CBD.

On the one hand, there’s environmental merit in forcing people not to bring their cars in at night especially if there’s a chance the driver will drink and drive. Public transport , which I’d love to encourage and myself try to use at night and weekends, sadly is not always a viable option after hours or at least a satisfactory one for many. Another reason to see massive improvements in buses and trains.

So it’s hard to see this as anything but another greedy move by the council to rope in money and make it more difficult to have reason to go into the city, as you’ll be forced to park at a city council car park or greedy Wilsons carpark if you want to be away from the vehicle for an extended time.

The council argues that the proposal is designed to assist the city’s retail, hospitality and entertainment businesses by improving the public’s access to on-street parking. And with pay and display hours currently ending at 6pm, CBD residents and workers are parking in many of the on-street spaces .

The last time I ever popped into the city by car to pick something up  from a city shop I parked, dashed in and was delayed in the shop long enough to come out and find my parking had expired and a meter warden already giving me a ticket.

So where possible,I avoid the city for any shopping and entertainment , especially at the weekend because of the restrictive parking and high parking building costs. That’s why malls and neighbourhood pubs do such a roaring trade. What annoys me is that for all the restoration of the pavements around Queen St and promotion for the “heart of the city”, parking warden discourage you from doing business there.

I hate picking on people just doing an unpopular job, but everyone I know has a nasty story about parking wardens and towtruck drivers - and some of the stories are dreadful.

I suggest we rebrand it as heart of an unfriendly city.

On-street parking in the CBD’s busiest streets between 6pm and 10pm would be available at half the normal tariff, with no time restriction. Heavy demand for onstreet parking after 6pm is considered by the council to  be a result of the CBD’s residential population increase from less than 2,000 in 1991 to almost 18,000 in 2006.

The consultation process follows the implementation of a six - month trial extending pay and display to 10pm around some Viaduct Basin streets. You have until October 16 to have your say and if you feel strongly, do so. To have a say on the proposal, visit here and complete the online form.

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2 Comments

 
  1. Andrew says:

    If they were using the meter fees to fund cheap or free bus and train travel in the evenings, then I wouldn’t have had a problem with this.

  2. Andrew says:

    Adding to my post above, if they also extended the operating hours of the City Circuit past 6pm to 10pm or later, and kept it free, I wouldn’t be so much against the parking charges.

    In other words, if they decide to take with these charges, they really need to give something back in return.

 

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