Te Awa parking changes creating issues

Referee Shane Allen said changes along Te Awa Ave in Napier meant there was not enough parking available during weekend school sports, creating congestion issues. Photo / James Pocock

Residents and a regular of Napier Boys’ High School sports say changes to parking along Te Awa Ave have been causing chaos on the weekends.

A project to create a shared pathway and crossing points along Te Awa Ave and Marine Parade to provide safer access for local students and residents began in 2021 and was completed in 2023.

Coach and referee Shane Allen has been attending weekend sports at nearby Napier Boys’ High School for more than 10 years and said the change had “effectively halved the parking” on the school side of the road because cars had to parallel park now rather than angle park.

“Before you would come in here and it was quite simple, you’d find a park. But now it is an absolute nightmare,” Allen said.

“On Saturday morning there were just cars constantly up and down here doing u-turns, double parking, it was chaos.”

He said foot traffic along Te Awa Ave wasn’t busy enough most of the time to justify the addition of the wide footpath.

“It was absolutely fine and if people wanted to walk along on foot on that side they could walk in the grass.”

Te Awa resident Geoff Harrison said he had experienced multiple issues with people parking over his driveway on Saturday mornings for years.

He believed the addition of the footpath and changes to parking were factors in the problems on his street becoming worse.

“It’s just getting really dangerous - there is going to be an incident,” Harrison said.

“Last [Saturday], I tried to guard our driveway because we might have to get out to town or whatever, and I went out for three cars.”

He said he often had to deal with belligerent people when asking them to move their vehicle.

“It is getting worse because people are getting more selfish.

“I’ll try to talk to people and get them to move but some will just argue, it is getting pretty bad.”

Vehicles legally cannot park closer than 1m away from a driveway.

A Napier City Council spokeswoman said the changes were intended to slow vehicles and increase the safety of other road users.

“This area was previously well-known as being of high risk to pedestrians and cyclists. Previously vehicles had to reverse over an on-road cycle lane which was an unsafe manoeuvre.”

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment funded $2.7 million for the project from the 2020 Covid Response and Recovery Fund, while the council funded $380,000 for stormwater and wastewater improvements.

The spokeswoman said formal consultation was not a requirement, but there had been communication with residents and users of the area including the school, and communication through social media and print advertising.

The council had not been approached by anyone concerned about the changes in parking along Te Awa Ave.

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on the environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz