There could be 17 new spaces in and around the park "over the next few months". Photo / Mike Tweed
There could be 17 new spaces in and around the park "over the next few months". Photo / Mike Tweed
A plan to address the parking problem at Whanganui’s Pukenamu Queen’s Park has been revealed, as visitor numbers surge at the reopened Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery.
The gallery had aimed for 70,000 visitors in the first year but there were 100,000 between November 9, 2024, and June 24.
A report from Whanganui District Council parks and property manager Tania Henare said “a temporary parking extension” had been agreed to, including increasing capacity along Cameron Terrace, with early quotes indicating a cost of about $35,000.
Other steps included painting parking lines at the upper-level parking area “to encourage more efficient use of the parking bays” and installing wayfinding and parking limitation signs, it said.
Henare told the council’s operations and performance committee on July 31 that an extra 17 car parks would be gained.
“I would imagine, if contractors were available, we’ll be able to get this done over the next few months.”
She told the Chronicle a final decision on the location of the parking extension had not been made – “that will happen once pricing information is in”.
Her report said a plan would be commissioned for “direction on parking needs and pedestrian flow”.
Council chief strategy officer Sarah O’Hagan said the plan, costing about $10,000, would inform medium-term responses to parking.
While there was sufficient budget to cover the short-term initiatives outlined in Henare’s report, extra funding could be needed to implement what was proposed in the report, she said.
Council chief strategy officer Sarah O’Hagan. Photo / NZME
That would come through annual or long-term plans.
Councillor Rob Vinsen said it disturbed him that there was no recognition of the pressure on parking at the park.
Visitor numbers at the Davis have gone in the opposite direction from the Sarjeant in recent months.
There were 81,397 visitors to the Davis between October 1 last year and April 30, down 26% from the same period the year before.
In June, libraries manager Pete Gray said parking was the principal cause of the drop, with the 10-space carpark between the two facilities overflowing on to the grass during peak hours.
Original landscaping plans for the area had 27 car parks, which may have been sufficient, he said.
Henare’s report said planter boxes would be placed around the perimeter of the carpark to stop further grass damage.
Vinsen said additional parking on Cameron Terrace would not keep customers coming to the Sarjeant’s cafe.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
