Whangarei’s Parking Management Strategy was published in 2011. Statistics on how much WDC is now reaping from parking charges in 2016 are hard to find, but the Strategy shows that even back in 2007, $100,000 was being collected in an average month like September. The Strategy reported that in 2010, “Council received an income of around $1.1m for on-street and off-street parking revenue.” The strategy does says that collecting revenue for parking is not the intent of Council, rather it is to manage the parking behaviour of the users. Unfortunately a behavioural result has been a decrease in pedestrian shoppers in the CBD.

In February, WDC met for its Parking Strategy Review which included discussions of free parking and parking for residents only. We’re still waiting on recommendations for parking improvements to be signed off, but we know the Review included discussions of:

• $1 an hour parking across the city
• How roading is paid for and the effect on roading of a decrease in parking revenue
• Park & ride options
• Multilevel car park options
• The effect of parking on businesses.

The answer to this last consideration is unknown.

Down in Auckland, the council has cranked up parking prices so that the lowest-charging operator is now asking over $40 per day for workers to park reasonably close to their place of work. It’s far worse under Wilson Parking, which often charges $12 an hour. It’s frightening to calculate what people would pay just to park near their workplace in Auckland.

Councils fail in their duties when they don’t offer buses and trains for us to easily hop on and off. Whangarei could use some light rail. All cities could.

When looking for a place to park, there needs to be a waiver for rate payers as opposed to visitors to the CBD. Currently Okara and Tarewa shopping centres support free parking. It’s part of the reason folks shop there.

Parking is crucial to a functioning economy. Palmerston North’s Frogparking technology, installed six years ago, squeezes as many cars into car parks as possible. That only maximises profit and doesn’t necessarily help small business owners.

Last Whangarei council election, there were pledges of free parking but that has not happened. Let’s not end up like Auckland, where parking and vehicle fines have brought Auckland Transport over $100m in the past four years.

So: free parking. Will is save our central city? I’d love to hear your thoughts.