Secret plan extends late parking fees

Fewer parking tickets were issued last year. Photo / Martin Sykes

Popping out for takeaways or drinks in Parnell could come with the hassle of paying for parking after-hours.

As well as pushing for after-hours parking fees in central Auckland, the Auckland City Council is quietly planning to extend them across the city, starting with Ponsonby, Newmarket and Parnell.

The plan is outlined in a "confidential" report that council officers wanted kept hidden from ratepayers. It was made public only after protests from councillors.

Councillor Mark Donnelly said it was "a straight money grab" to fill a demand from Mayor John Banks and Citizens & Ratepayers councillors for council officers to increase parking revenue by $2.5 million a year.

Parking group manager Rick Bidgood said after-hours parking addressed the needs of the city and was not linked to higher parking revenue. He said the parking group did not have revenue targets.

Parnell Inc manager Debbie Harkness said the night-time economy in Parnell should "not be threatened by the same woolly council thinking seen in the ousted draft liquor law changes, with its thoughtless unintended consequences for business".

Newmarket Business Association chief executive Cameron Brewer said council assurances that the policy would be introduced only to areas with evening parking problems should not apply to the predominantly daytime shopping precinct.

It would be counter-productive to promoting Newmarket's hospitality businesses, he said.

Ponsonby Business Association general manager Justin Bade said after-hours parking fees would have a bad effect on the 125 restaurants and bars and predicted an angry reaction similar to the one that greeted the liquor law changes dumped last week.

Transport general manager Ken Baguley said the council would not introduce any changes to parking in central Auckland or elsewhere without full public consultation.

The council is consulting on a scheme that would charge motorists half daytime rates to park in parts of central Auckland from 6pm to 10pm.

The only hint of extending the policy is in an online survey with a single question: "Is it worth considering extending this proposal to areas outside the CBD?"

The transport committee last month endorsed the proposal to add four hours to the 6pm cut-off on pay-and-display charging for street parking in the downtown area.

It has proposed half-price charges after 6pm, making the fee $2 an hour. A six-month trial is beind done on the eastern side of the Viaduct Harbour.

The council's parking services group said growing numbers of inner-city residents were monopolising free spaces all night, making it hard for others to reach restaurants, cinemas and bars in the evenings.

A staff report forecast an extra $1.56 million a year in downtown Auckland and $1.95 million across the city with no change in occupancy and $1.01 million and $1.37 million a 30 per cent reduction in occupancy.

Reprogramming 800 pay-and-display machines and replacing 2000 signs would be a one-off cost of $544,000.

Political demands to increase parking revenue have not been met. The council collected $10.8 million from pay-and-display meters in the year to June 30, down from $11.3 million the previous year.

Parking revenue is also down because of higher public transport use and fewer parking tickets being issued.