A proposal to hike car parking fees in central Whangārei has got motorists and business owners tooting mad.
But the Whangārei District Council says the proposed new charges are just suggestions, as part of consultation on parking management in the central business district (CBD).
Whangārei is rapidly growing and a “perfect storm” of increasing demand for parking, and static or falling supply, means parking demand must be proactively managed, the consultation document said.
It proposes three major changes: updated technology so motorists pay by licence plate and enforcement is done by plate recognition, an increase in paid parking zones across the city and an increase in parking prices from 2026.
The proposed prices include zone one in the centre of town - including Laurie Hall Park and Forum North - jumping from $2 an hour to $4 an hour, zone two parking doubling from $1 an hour to $2 an hour, and zone three parking - of all-day carparks typically used by commuters - hiking from $2 a day to 50c an hour, to a maximum of $5 a day.
The proposal is all about working out the appropriate “pain point” for parking and what people are prepared to pay to guarantee a park, said council transport strategy and planning lead Nick Marshall.
“There is currently no strong intention to lift prices, it’s more testing to see if we should.”
Higher charges mean more people will use alternative options, such as taking the bus, cycling, car-pooling or parking further away. This then frees up spaces for those who have to drive, he said.
Compared with other councils of the same size, Whangārei has some of the cheapest parking prices in the country, Marshall said.
On top of controlling demand, higher parking fees mean less costs on ratepayers for parking enforcement and creating future carparking, he explained.
But the proposed price hikes have been rubbished by residents and business owners, who say more car parks are needed.
Amelia Herbert from Tikipunga said while it took her nearly 20 minutes to find a park in the CBD on Thursday morning, she didn’t think increasing prices would help.
“I really don’t see how it’s going to improve anything; where are all the cars going to go?
“We just need more car parks.”
Herbert’s grandfather Gabriel Henry also struggled to get a park, even though he has a mobility parking concession card.
He would like to see greater enforcement of the accessible car parks, which he thought were taken up by people without a concession 90% of the time.
But Henry is also annoyed with on-street parks in the CBD being removed for yellow lines.
Patrick Joyce doesn’t drive and said Whangārei’s public transport needs improvements to entice more people to use it.
The buses are too infrequent, running just once an hour off-peak, and a passenger train is needed between Whangārei and Auckland, he said.
“It’s hopeless ... if it was better it would maybe get people out of cars.”
Tarn de Riddler from Maungatāpere found it easy to get a park and said the council’s electronic system mPark was easy to use.
She thought $4 an hour for parking in the city centre would be too expensive.
“If we want people to come into the centre of town, it’s got to be easy to do so ... $4 is a bit steep, I feel sorry for the businesses if that was the case.”
NorthChamber chairman and CBD business owner Tim Robinson said he read the car parking proposal with disbelief and feared it could kill central businesses.
The district is growing but there is a “continuing sinking lid” on car parks and ever-growing parking charges, he said.
“We’re making it impossible to get customers here into town ... Do we want a thriving and bustling CBD or not?”
Robinson was not convinced people would switch to public transport or cycling, saying council staff should model this behaviour first by being banned from bringing their cars into town.
His idea for more carparking is for a developer to build a multi-storey building somewhere like Vine St, with shops, cafes and offices on the bottom floors, and parking on floors above.
Marshall said the parking management fits in with the overall transport strategy for Whangārei, with initiatives including more T2 lanes and buses running every 15 minutes.
The council’s long-term plan includes a feasibility study of a park-and-ride facility in 2026-27 and $10.1m for a new carparking building from 2028.
In the short term, the council is planning to squeeze more car parks into the CBD by turning parallel parking into diagonal parks, with the aim of creating 50 more spaces before Christmas, he said.
The City Centre Parking Management Plan survey closes August 13.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.