Rotorua to trial free parking building and new provider announced amid wider shake-up

A free parking trial starts in Rotorua in March. Photo / Laura Smith

Rotorua Lakes Council will trial free parking at the city centre’s main parking building from next month.

The council has also found a new provider for on-street parking machines and software.

Parking at the Pukuatua St building will be free from March 1 to April 30, in a bid to encourage more inner-city workers to use the underutilised facility.

Rotorua Lakes Council district development group manager Jean-Paul Gaston said the two-level building already offered some of the cheapest all-day parking in the city centre but had struggled to attract consistent use.

“We know inner-city workers have been asking for more affordable, long-term parking options,” Gaston said.

“We’d like to see the building better used, with locals making the most of the free parking trial and ongoing cheaper parking rates.”

The Pukuatua St carpark in central Rotorua. Photo / NZME

The building, which has about 180 spaces, has recently been tidied up and fitted with additional CCTV and improved lighting.

Gaston said the aim was to encourage drivers to get into the habit of using the facility in the hope of continued use once fees returned.

From May, parking charges will revert to the current rate of $1 an hour, with the remaining two hours free. Further reviews are planned before July 1.

Businesses already leasing spaces in the building will also receive free parking during the trial.

The trial comes as pressure continues on free parking elsewhere in the city, with inner-city workers often competing for limited spaces at locations such as Government Gardens and Kuirau Park.

Rotorua’s time-limited and metered parking has been fully outsourced to parking provider i-Park since 2018.

This will change on July 1, with the council confirming Orikan as the city’s new provider of on-street parking machines and software.

All remaining parking services, such as enforcement and collection, will be brought back under the council’s remit. This follows a decision last May not to renew its partnership with i-Park.

I-Park in Rotorua. Photo / Felix Desmarais, LDR

The fully outsourced parking model often attracted criticism from residents, business owners and community leaders, but Gaston said i-Park had helped modernise the city’s parking systems.

All parties would work together on a transition plan over the coming months, he said.

“Creating a vibrant, successful and busy city centre remains a priority for this council.”

Orikan currently supplies parking systems to several New Zealand centres, including Tauranga, New Plymouth and Hamilton.

Chief customer officer and managing director for New Zealand Mark Oliver said Orikan aimed to deliver a “seamless and easy-to-use” experience for Rotorua motorists.

Final details of the council’s proposed parking changes will be confirmed following the conclusion of public consultation.

Submissions have been sought on issues including parking layouts, fee structures, permit options and the potential removal of coin-operated meters.

Submissions closed earlier this month and councillors heard from submitters at a hearing on Wednesday.

Views on council proposals varied from those who backed their recommendations to those who suggested no paid parking at all within the city.

A decision is due in late March.

Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.

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