Whanganui District Council could add more parking meters and increase charges

Parking charges on parts of Victoria Ave could rise to $3 an hour. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui District Council is proposing changes to the city’s parking rules, including higher charges and 14 more meters.

Other tweaks include three more mobility parks in the CBD, allowing Ucol students three hours of free parking on Taupō Quay and expanding the SuperGold Card parking scheme to Saturdays.

Council policy manager Elise Broadbent said the changes were intended to improve parking turnover in central Whanganui and increase parking revenue, which was part of the council’s six-point plan to tackle rates.

At present, it costs $1 per hour to park on Drews Ave, Maria Place, Ridgway St, Taupō Quay, St Hill St, Watt St and along inner-city side streets.

On lower Victoria Ave, it costs $1 for 30 minutes.

Off-street public carparks on Moutoa Quay, Drews Ave, Ingestre St and St Hill St cost 50 cents an hour.

The council proposes to increase all existing metered parking to $2 per hour, except Victoria Ave which would rise to $3 per hour.

Council operations manager Jason Shailer said making side streets and off-street parking the same price gave people the ability to move between them and not have to reset the meter.

“Currently, we have three zones - Victoria Ave, side streets and off streets - and they are all different [prices].

“This would give you more freedom to move with your money, which I think is a bloody fair thing.”

Shailer said officers were conscious not to put prices “out of people’s grasp” and he was interested to see the feedback from the public.

The current 50 cent per hour rate was extremely low compared to other centres, he said.

In New Plymouth, parking costs $3 per hour across the CBD, while Palmerston North City Council charges $1.70 per hour for on-street and $1 per hour for off-street.

Parking in central Wellington costs $4 or $5 an hour.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe. Photo / Bevan Conley

In early 2022, Whanganui’s 216 meters were replaced by 49 solar-powered machines that accept coins, tap-and-go credit or debit card payments and an app-based payment system.

During their first year of operation, $261,460 of fines were issued from 7436 infringements, with the previous year bringing in only $58,324 from 4541 infringements.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said the city had the most successful Horizons bus service - Te Ngaru The Tide - and it was important to encourage people to use public transport and cycleways.

However, there would be a need for more carparks in the future and council staff were already thinking about that, he said.

“We are on a high growth trajectory so we need to bear that in mind.”

During a council workshop last December, council chief executive David Langford said one possible investment “on behalf of the community” was the construction of a parking building in the central city.

Broadbent said Victoria Ave often had congestion and high occupancy, especially during the “lunch rush” between 11am and 1pm.

“The key principle of parking tariffs is to ensure short-term parking so customers and visitors can come and do what they need to do and leave - rather than to enable people who are working to park all day in those premium spots.”

The proposed new parking meters will be on Rutland St, Ridgway St, Guyton St and St Hill St.

“They are premium parks that often fill up all day with local business workers or owners,” she said.

‘We hope that installing these new meters will also help to encourage turnover and any additional revenue they generate will also be used for the purpose of offsetting the rates rise.”

The SuperGold Card scheme currently enables cardholders, who have applied to the council for a permit to display in their vehicle, free parking in the CBD between 8am and 11am Monday to Friday.

The council proposes to expand it to the same hours on Saturdays.

Broadbent said letting students park free for three hours - an hour extra - on Taupō Quay meant they could park for the entire length of their classes.

Of the three new mobility parks, two would be for mobility vans in the Winstone carpark area on St Hill St.

Public consultation on the proposal opens on April 2, alongside consultation on the council’s long-term plan (LTP).

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and 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.