Tauranga businesses fear impact of expanded paid parking

Vetro Mediterranean Food owner Liz Cerdeira says paid parking outside her store will impact business. Photos / George Novak, John Borren

The introduction of paid parking on more Tauranga city centre streets will create “real problems”, a shop owner says.

Paid parking will be extended to the city centre fringe between Arundel St, which is between 4th and 5th Aves, and Park St, north of the CBD.

The decision was made by councillors at a Tauranga City Council meeting on Monday when they adopted the Tauranga Parking Management Plan.

The introduction date and fees for the new parking areas were yet to be decided.

Vetro Mediterranean Food owner Liz Cerdeira said paid parking outside her 3rd Ave store would have a big impact on staff.

The majority of her team had to drive because the buses did not run early enough or from the areas where they lived.

“There are no buses available for them to get in and out easily in the times that they need.

“All big cities have decent public transport, Tauranga doesn’t.”

Vetro Mediterranean Food owner Liz Cerdeira is concerned paid parking will impact her staff. Photo / John Borren

Cerdeira was worried staff wouldn’t want to work there if they had to pay for parking.

“It’s going to create real problems. The retail workers who are on lower wages, they’re going to suffer.

“It’s a real problem when you start charging people all-day parking and you don’t offer alternatives, that’s just unfair.”

She hoped parking would still be free on Saturdays because it was her biggest retail day.

Cerdeira said she had not been consulted about paid parking since the council first talked about extending it in 2023. The plans were put on hold after public opposition.

“It’s unfair that they’ve just put that through without another consultation and they should also be showing that the bus system is better than it was.”

Vetro had some parking for customers, so it wouldn’t impact them too much, but Cerdeira was worried about other businesses.

“We are competing against the malls that offer free parking, so people aren’t going to come into town where they have to pay.

“Council will literally just kill the centre of town.”

Excelso Coffee owner Carrie Evans in 2020. Photo/Andrew Warner

Excelso Coffee owner Carrie Evans shared Cerdeira’s concerns about buses.

Her workers could not take a bus because their shifts started at 6.15am or 6.30am, she said.

Many surrounding businesses were industrial, so having paid parking did not make sense because there was no need to encourage parking turnover, she said.

“Paid parking on streets where there aren’t [retail] businesses is not the answer.”

Evans suggested having a 10 or 15-minute period of free parking to support businesses like hers.

She was concerned if customers didn’t pay for parking and were fined, they wouldn’t come back.

“Small businesses are having such a hard time right now.”

Allure Nail Studio co-owner Margaret Fraser said it provided customer parking and so paid parking would not impact the business.

It also had staff parking at its Monmouth St business, she said.

The on-street parking was always full, so it had to provide parking for clients, Fraser said.

Tauranga City Council city development and partnerships general manager Gareth Wallis. Photo / Alex Cairns

Council city development and partnerships general manager Gareth Wallis said there would not be any changes to weekend parking.

The parking plan aimed to balance the needs of residents, commuters, and customers who competed for limited parking, Wallis said.

City centre workers were encouraged to use long-term parking facilities, parking buildings, public transport or walk or cycle, he said.

The council supported improved public transport, but responsibility for public transport planning and delivery lay with Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Wallis said.

The regional council made some network changes aimed at improving reliability on Monday, he said.

“Improved public transport won’t negate the need for parking management, and our team will continue to monitor and adapt to demand.”

Consultation on the draft parking strategy was held in 2021 and there was ongoing informal engagement with city centre businesses, Wallis said.

Recommendations for the Tauranga Central City Parking Management Plan. The purple area will have paid on-street parking. Image / Tauranga City Council

The council also received regular feedback from city fringe residents about the ongoing issue of commuters occupying on-street parking and moving their vehicles during the day to avoid time restrictions or fines, he said.

Regional council acting transport operations manager Simon Bell said most Tauranga urban bus services ran between 6am and 7pm.

There were no plans to extend those hours, which were comparable to services in other similar-sized New Zealand cities such as Hamilton, he said.

“Services are planned to meet a broad range of needs across the network within available budgets and are reviewed periodically.”

As part of the city council’s plan, more two-hour time-restricted parking (P120) areas will also be added to the streets between 11th Ave and Marsh St.

The council would also hold community engagement on the development of a Mount Maunganui Parking Management Plan.

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.