Parking poachers clog back-streets

Wayne Tisdall says 600 carparks could disappear in developments which include Killarney St carpark. Picture / Greg Bowker

Hundreds of workers in central Takapuna are leaving their cars in streets up to 1.5km away as fuel and parking costs bite into their pay packets.

The free parkers have prompted residents of clogged streets to call for parking bans and 120-minute limits.

"People are complaining about the inconvenience of parkers blocking their access and their visitors not being able to park," said Takapuna Community Board chairman Wayne Tisdall.

He said the community board and the North Shore City Council were desperately seeking a solution to the problem.

This year they brought in a "parking strategy" that combined restrictions on 200 parking spaces in several streets with improved commuter bus services.

But these have not eased the squeeze on free on-street parking. Commuters have merely pushed into fresh territory for all-day parks.

The latest council survey shows that 97 per cent of the 1240 free on-street spaces up to 1.5km from the CBD are taken for longer than four hours daily.

This compares with 62 per cent use of CBD on-street metered spaces.

The meter charge is $1 an hour.

Council officers link the trend towards free-parking to rising fuel prices and fees going up from $6 to $7 a day at the Wilsons and Tournament Parking lots and from $4 to $6 in the Killarney St carpark beside the Bruce Mason Centre.

"It seems to confirm that a relatively high aversion to paying for carparking remains," said strategic projects manager Simon Guillemin."

He said higher petrol prices could be encouraging commuters to offset the cost by using free parking further from the CBD and walking the rest.

Commuters were also using P120 and P180 spaces, with vehicles being shifted regularly to avoid a ticket.

Mr Tisdall said the board was also worried about residential streets becoming more clogged when free parks closer to the CBD were lost to a string of building construction projects.

About 600 spaces could disappear during development of sites such as the old Gasometer and the present Killarney St carpark.

But he did not like the council officers' suggestion that the town could ride out the squeeze - provided no more residential streets were barred to commuters.

"We are saying we can't delay restrictions on a street-by-street basis until these new buildings offer parking," said Mr Tisdall.

"People have been patiently waiting for the restrictions."

Board member and councillor Kevin Schwass said it was unfair to leave residents to their fate.

"It's putting your head in the sand to say there won't be a problem.

"Takapuna is like a pregnant balloon. It's ready to pop.

"This is a crisis and residents should not have to put up with it for more years to come."

In neighbouring Waitakere City, residents and commuters are also feeling the effects of the introduction of parking charges.

Henderson Community Board chairwoman Elizabeth Grimmer said the board opposed a two-year paid parking trial brought in by the city council at the popular Falls Park.

Commuters now pay $3 a day and those who refuse have taken to the nearby streets.

Councillor Ewen Gilmour said the parking charges were not popular "because Waitakere is not the most affluent place".

"People haven't had to pay for parking unless it was a parking ticket."

On the credit side, he said, the fees were paying for security cameras monitoring the carpark and these had dramatically cut car theft.

Mr Gilmour said Henderson was growing into Waitakere City's capital and new buildings on the way would have public parking available.

These include the Unitec-public library building, which will have 250 public spaces but there will be a charge.

The new Civic Centre will have 232 parking spaces, about 40 of them for visitors.