Have your say on proposed Parking Bylaw changes
Published on 03 April 2024
Whanganui District Council is carrying out a review of its Parking Bylaw and Controls and is seeking community feedback on proposed changes to parking exemptions, meters and tariffs. The proposed changes are intended to improve parking turnover in Whanganui’s CBD, as well as help offset anticipated rates rises.
The council’s community and customer experience general manager, Marianne Cavanagh, says, “The changes we’re suggesting are intended to make parking in Victoria Avenue and connecting side streets as fair and accessible to everyone in the community. Our goal is also to extend parking options for people who need to park in or near the CBD for extended periods because of study or mobility needs.”
The proposed changes to the parking bylaw are to:
- expand the SuperGold card parking scheme in the CBD to include Saturday mornings
- increase free parking for UCOL students on Taupo Quay from two hours to three hours to allow for lecture times
- add three extra mobility parks to the CBD area
- introduce 14 new parking meters on Rutland, Ridgway, Guyton and St Hill streets
- increase parking charges (also referred as tariffs) in Victoria Avenue, CBD side streets, council-operated off-street carparks and council-operated rental carparks to increase turnover.
Marianne Cavanagh says, “Parking tariffs are a way of managing parking demand in our CBD by putting a cost on the time spent in a parking space. By also increasing the hourly rate for parking tariffs and installing new meters on several CBD side streets, we want to reduce traffic congestion and high-occupancy parking rates in Victoria Avenue while encouraging people to park at a lower rate on side streets or off-street parks.”
The increase in parking tariffs will also contribute to the council’s ability to alleviate future rates rises. At the moment, there are effectively three parking “zones” in Whanganui’s CBD where tariffs differ. Under the proposed tariff changes, there would only be two tariff areas – “premium” parks in Victoria Avenue (with a proposed increase from $2.00 to $3.00 per hour), and side street and off-street carparks (with a proposed standard tariff of $2.00 per hour).
Marianne Cavanagh says, “The ability to move between parks in the same ‘zone’ will increase the turnover of carparks in the central city area, and change people’s parking habits to help reduce the frustrating levels of congestion often found at peak times in the CBD.
“By using the pay-by-plate system on Victoria Avenue parking meters, people can move from one premium park in the avenue to another with the same payment if metered time is still available,” Marianne Cavanagh says. “The same applies to side street and off-street parks – if you still have paid time on meters in these areas, you can take your payment with you and move from one park to another.”
Consultation on these changes is now open and runs until 5.00pm on Thursday, 2 May 2024. For all consultation information and to have your say, please visit:
www.whanganui.govt.nz/have-your-say