Paid parking at Whangarei Town Basin had to come

Should we complain that we can't park at the Town Basin and use The Loop. The Loop didn't exist when those carparks were created - they are for Town Basin development users.

It's long been an irony that parking at Whangarei's Town Basin - a popular spot for locals and visitors - is mostly self-regulated.

Historically, there hasn't been a heavy parking warden presence in the Basin carparks, although they seem to have no problems finding streets just metres away where 2-hour limits prevail.

The parking has been abused though - if that isn't too strong a word - and something needs to be done about it.

There are two choices - send in the parking police and start fining the heck out of everyone. Or introduce paid self-regulation. The latter makes more sense - a parking ticket in a zone where you don't have to buy a ticket always seems to sting more, for some reason.

Whereas if you buy a ticket, you know the rules and if you break them, there's a consequence.

Although policing a ticket zone is far less hassle for wardens than chalking tyres in no-ticket zones.

Parking is still free for an hour near the Town Basin's playground (a playground far too small for a town the size of Whangarei, by the way) and disabled parking won't change.

And a three-month trial will give time to assess if the time limit/parking fee balance is right.

There has been a mini uproar on Facebook - Facebook is useful for determining feedback - but it's not representative of the whole population.

Hopefully, most people will take it on the chin.

And if you're parking in these spots when you're doing The Loop, remember, it didn't exist when these carparks were created - they were set up to cater for users of the Town Basin - not the Town Basin "loop". Which doesn't mean that the council shouldn't provide parking for loop users, by the way, but not directly adjacent to the Town Basin development.

We've had it free for a long time, it's been nice but so long, see you later, free parking.
Paid parking at the Town Basin had to come sooner or later and is a sign that, as a city, we are continuing to grow up.

All we ask, perhaps, is some consistency in how parking continues to be policed, and some rationale behind the fees.

Give people as little opportunity as possible to complain long term is not a bad mantra when it comes to parking.