Pay and dismay

Expensive pay-and-display and parking building charges are driving Aucklanders from the city centre. Must we pay so much? Hayley Hannan reports.
The morning commute takes Natalie Routen just five minutes now that she's moved to a central city apartment. "I used to catch a bus from Howick,'' she says. "It was about
$6.60 each way and really uneconomic. I couldn't park in town because it was too expensive.''
Ms Routen, who works in a clothing boutique, says she's not alone in her view. "A lot of the customers mention it as well. They say, 'I never come into town. I go to the other store because it has free parking'.  It does deter people.''
Central city parking, and parking across the region, is run by Auckland Council and private companies, such as Wilson Parking. About 80 per cent of the Auckland population travels by car.
For Siegfried Jordan, high parking costs make him feel his custom is not wanted. He says: "The parking situation in the central city shows the council doesn't want people to go into town.''
So how much should the Auckland Council charge for parking? Wellington and Hamilton  offer free inner-city parking at weekends, while Christchurch  has an hour's free parking in central city parking buildings seven days a week.
The Campaign for Better Transport's Joshua Arbury says: "I generally struggle to find a parking space in the CBD on the roadside, except  at weekends. This indicates to me that parking is probably a bit too cheap.''
If the council provides unlimited parking it will come at a cost, he says, as can be seen in Manukau City Centre. "About 75 per cent of the Manukau City Centre is dedicated to parking, with an enormous opportunity lost in that the land hasn't been developed for something more productive than car storage.''
American cities commonly focus on parking instead of more shops and offices, causing more harm than good, says Auckland Transport communications manager Sharon Hunter. "This increases the cost of land. Rates and rents go up and these costs are passed on to consumers, whether they use the parking facilities or not.''
Where it goes
Ever wondered how much money Auckland Council gathers from parking machines? Figures obtained by The Aucklander show the former councils collected $2,223,164 last year from the 89 top-grossing parking meters across the Auckland region. Auckland Transport owns pay-and-display machines in five wards. Prices range from 37c an hour in Manukau, to $4 an hour for central city streets (see figures below).
Parking manager Eunan Cleary says the money has mostly gone into council accounts to help pay for all services. "Unless specifically earmarked, revenue generated from pay-and-display machines under the former councils was treated as a reduction of the councils' gross expenditure and not allocated to any specific business or community area.'' He says this may change.
Meter made
Top grossing Auckland Transport parking pay-and-display machines (2010)
Waitemata Local Board average tariff per hour: $2.72
Customs St West [parking machine number 6644] $109,765
Market Place [6659] $85,878
Lorne St [6118] $81,929
Hobson St Lower Level [6643] $73,630
Hobson St Lower Level [6642] $57,967
Wellesley St West [6286] $57,031
Beresford Square [6350] $47,761
Federal St [6274] $42,964
Customs St West [6645] $39,382
Fort St [6239] $39,004
Kingston St [6281] $35,888
Customs St West [6654] $36,541
Wyndham St [6271] $34,275
Hardinge St [6760] $31,995
Shortland St [6221] $29,646
Market Place [6655] $28,717
Wolfe St [6261] $26,625
Federal St [6258] $26,275
Kitchener St [6170] $19,921
Parnell Rd [6618] $10,374
Orakei Local Board average tariff per hour: $1.72
Kent St [6843] $58,920
Kent St [6844] $45,082
Davis Cres [6832] $41,857
Kent St [6846] $37,199
Kent St [6845] $36,503
Broadway [6814] $30,931
Davis Crescent [6831] $28,441
Broadway [6813] $27,655
Teed St [6852] $27,201
Broadway [6816] $26,683
Davis Crescent [6829] $26,017
Nuffield St [6381] $25,592
Broadway [6824] $25,240
Nuffield St [6864] $23,332
Nuffield St [6380] $21,178
Nuffield St [6986] $20,319
Broadway [6819] $17,148
Teed St [6854] $13,172
Morrow St [6858] $11,683
Manukau average tariff per hour: $1
Davies Ave [5129] $23,448
Davies Ave [5116] $16,647
Davies Ave [5128] $16,573
Davies Ave [5118] $15,809
Davies Ave [5120] $15,330
Davies Ave [5126] $15,167
Davies Ave [5124] $15,136
Putney Way [5133] $14,689
Putney Way [5134] $13,978
Davies Ave [5119] $12,245
Ronwood Ave [5112] $8545
Amersham Way [5137] $8305
Ronwood Ave [5104] $7970
Ronwood Ave [5107] $7514
Osterley Way [5135] $7512
Ronwood Ave [5103] $6562
Ronwood Ave [5106] $6494
Ronwood Ave [5108] $5922
Ronwood Ave [5102] $5770
Putney Way [5132] $5751
North Shore average tariff per hour: $1
The Strand [3127] $34,829
Byron Ave [3157] $24,485
The Strand [3115] $23,591
Byron Ave [3155] $19,059
The Strand [3116] $18,397
Channel View Car Park [3104] $18,355
The Strand [3102] $18,230
The Strand [3114] $16,841
Huron St [3143] $16,394
Byron Ave [3152] $15,699
Huron St [3143] $15,007
Byron Ave [3156] $14,948
Channel View Car Park [3130] $14,623
Hurstmere Rd [3123] $14,072
Northcroft St [3123] $13,618
Northcroft St [3146] $13,305
Northcroft St [3145] $12,998
The Terrace [3131] $12,935
Channel View Car Park [3106] $12,624
Northcroft St [3147] $12,075
Waitakere average tariff per hour: $4
Alderman Drive $50,878 
West Park Marina $40,118
Alderman Drive $30,583
Falls Hotel $17,654
Corbans Hill $14,980
West Park Marina $11,532
Falls Hotel $4599
Corbans Hill $3879
West Park Marina $1016