On-street parking a thing of the past for booming Auckland suburb

Wednesday, 14 November 2018

On-street parking on Byron Ave, Takapuna, can cause tensions.

The days of parking on the street outside your house are numbered, an Auckland politician says, as housing intensifies and commuters search for free car-parking spots.

Tensions are rising between residents and commuters on Auckland's North Shore as the demand for on-street parking escalates.

In the residential half of Takapuna's Byron Ave, there are 11 bays of on-street car parks with time limits of 120 minutes. The street is around an eight-minute walk away from central Takapuna.

Commuters are going to extreme lengths to claim one of these coveted spots, according to residents.

**READ MORE:

Workers wait in driveways to secure car parks in Takapuna, according to residents.

* Paid parking zone around North Shore Hospital 'money grabbing'

* Auckland streets become a park 'n ride as commuter cars block residents

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chairman George Wood says the days of being guaranteed a car park outside your house are over for Takapuna residents.

* Workers angry at all-day parking charge increase on Auckland's North Shore

* Bus station with no park-and-ride drives desperate commuters to block nearby streets**

Takapuna Beach Business Association chief executive officer Terence Harpur says parking is an important issue for the whole community.

'It is unreal,' a long-time resident said.

'People come down and physically wipe off the chalk on the tyres or they turn the wheel around.'

Tenneyson Ave in Takapuna is full of workers' cars which leaves no where for residents to park.

Workers regularly waited in an elderly resident's driveway early in the morning before swooping into a vacant car park, a resident said.

Neighbours were concerned this behaviour was 'frightening' for the elderly resident.

With parking at a premium there had been verbal confrontations between residents and those who wanted to park on the street, a resident said.

'People who work in Takapuna don't think they should pay for parking, that is the problem.'

Two s-called 'ghost houses' in Byron Ave were purchased last year by developers and Auckland Council gave consent for 14 terrace houses to be built across these neighbouring properties, a move residents predicted would bring 28 extra resident vehicles into the street and increase the on-street parking tensions.

'While I sympathise with residents, the days of having on-street parking as a matter of course are gone,' Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chairman George Wood said.

Wood said Takapuna's residential population was predicted to increase fourfold in the next 30 years, thanks in large part to several apartment buildings that were already under construction or were consented to begin building.

'Takapuna is going to go through huge transformation with apartment development and it is not going to slow down.

'The unfortunate situation of living in the city area - and Takapuna is now a metro centre - is parking is an issue.

'It does mean in the future that if people don't have off-street parking they will have to resort to public transport to commute around or move further out of town.'

Takapuna Beach Business Association chief executive officer Terence Harpur acknowledged the competing desires for car parks.

'Parking is an important issue for the whole community,' Harpur said.

Takapuna had about 3650 public car parks, so there was a large range of options to suit different needs, he said.

'We are happy that Auckland Council have started construction of a new high-tech car park in central Takapuna of 420 spaces.'

Paid parking costs around $12 a day in central Takapuna compared to $1 a day on the outskirts of the suburb at Harbourside Church on Esmonde Rd with 300 spaces.

Further away from the centre, parking in residential streets was free, but could be time-limited.

In 2016, Takapuna workers expressed anger at the cost of all-day parking, as AT increased on-street parking costs by nearly double.

As a result of the increased charges, residents of streets close to central Takapuna started to see an increase in the number of workers who parked in their street and walked to work or to catch the bus to the city.

'The general strategy for the metropolitan centre of Takapuna is to incentivise short-stay car parking in the very centre for customers and clients,' Harpur said.

'Public transport is becoming more comfortable and efficient, so many workers use this.'

Auckland Transport information stated the implementation of a residential parking zone would be considered when parking occupancy is regularly above 85 per cent occupancy at peak times, or when AT received multiple requests for a parking zone and there was support from the local board.

Wood said AT would re-look at Takapuna parking, but 'can't do every area at once'.

'AT are in a difficult situation, [residential] parking permits would mean other people wouldn't get the opportunity to park in those parks.'

On the other side of Takapuna, AT planned to charge for on-street parking around North Shore Hospital 'to improve parking availability and reduce congestion'.

AT proposed time-restricted parking on residential streets near the hospital, a move Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member Jan O'Connor called 'money grabbing'.

Public consultation closed on the proposed changes to the streets around the hospital in June. AT have not released the final decision yet.