Tauranga parking: Cost of living, CBD changes behind idea to delay paid parking area expansion

Controversial plans to charge for parking on more central Tauranga streets may be delayed as workers and residents deal with the cost-of-living crisis and CBD transformation work.

Three weeks out from the paid parking area expanding, Tauranga City Council staff are recommending it be put on hold.

The council had confirmed in August it would expand the CBD’s paid parking area from its existing boundaries of Harington St in the north and Second Ave in the south, out to Monmouth St and Arundel St from November 1.

From September next year, all-day parking spaces on the CBD’s fringe up to 11th Ave — which are popular with workers — would become time-restricted, forcing them elsewhere.

Last month, the Bay of Plenty Times reported concerns from CBD workers who feared having “nowhere” to go as they were unable to use public transport but could not afford to pay for parking five days a week.

Weekday on-street parking charges are $2 per hour for the first two hours then $5 per hour. Parking buildings cost $17.50 a day. The Dive Cres car park is $8 a day. It has more than 100 parks with 40 more to be added.

In a report in the agenda for the council meeting on Monday, parking strategy manager Reece Wilkinson recommended city commissioners put the November 1 restrictions “on hold” until February 26 next year.

There were several CBD projects happening before Christmas, reducing all-day parking options, he said.

“This, alongside cost-of-living concerns among the wider community, [means] we have the opportunity to consider deferring the implementation of the phased paid parking expansion …”

Wilkinson said that since the parking plan was approved, other “city centre transformation” projects in the CBD were given the go-ahead.

This affected the number of all-day parking spaces, as well as loading zones and layover areas used by work vehicles and delivery trucks.

Deferring the new restrictions would allow time to complete some projects and open up more parking spaces, he said.

Projects included the Spring St and Dive Cres car parks, Tunks Reserve and Elizabeth St east upgrade, off-street parking at Devonport Rd and 1st Ave, new bike parking, and City Centre Action and Investment Plan work, which included streetscaping.

However, Wilkinson said more parking restrictions would still be needed over time “as more properties are built without off-street parking”.

“The city centre transport network is expected to be highly changeable over the next 18 months and we will need to ensure parking follows suit.”

Tauranga City centre changes showing the extended paid parking area. Graphic / TCC

A delayed rollout would help the council minimise “further disruption” for people in the area.

Wilkinson said it was expected a deferral would be supported by residents, business owners, city centre workers and the wider community.

Automobile Association Central area manager Heather Kerr, who previously described the changes as “short-sighted” and said her team would have to figure out how to afford all-day parking or other ways get to work, backed the deferral idea.

She said a delay would allow more time to establish bus routes and investigate park-and-ride options, but she was not sure February would be enough time to make a difference, and hoped it would be “deferred to a much further date or removed completely”.

Kerr said other CBD business owners and workers shared her concerns, “so it is good that the council are listening to the people who are impacted”.

She said she supported reducing congestion but there needed to be viable options to encourage motorists to change.

CBD worker Sheila Parker is concerned about planned changes to parking in central Tauranga. Photo / Alex Cairns

Kerr said trying to park in the CBD was especially hard for customers as there were fewer parks due to development.

“We frequently find that the parks are also taken up with the trade vehicles.”

Sheila Parker previously told the Bay of Plenty Times that she believed the council had failed to consider CBD workers such as her with the parking changes, which would mean “there will be nowhere for me to go”.

Parker usually parked on Devonport Rd near Memorial Park, in the area set to become time-restricted next year.

At the time, council general manager of infrastructure Nic Johansson said consultation for a draft parking strategy was on “high-level topics and principles, rather than how these were to be implemented on specific streets”.

The council’s long-term goal was for people to be less reliant on cars while creating a vibrant city centre, he said. While the shift to alternative transport options would take time as the city transformed, the council was “committed to ensuring a variety of parking options are still available [in] the city centre”.

He said work was already happening to support alternative transport options, such as secure bike parking, and to explore new CBD parking.

Monday’s council meeting will be held from 9.30am at Regional House and livestreamed.

Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.