Big shakeup for Newtown parking
Wednesday, 6 September 2023
In a proposal to tackle Newtown’s notorious parking gridlock 2500 two-hour parking spaces will be introduced in three key areas around Berhampore and Newtown.
At a briefing on Wednesday, Wellington City Council said approximately 50% of the spaces would be set aside as P120 with exceptions for residents with council-issued permits.
“This is to ensure people are able to find a park because at the moment we’re oversubscribed,” said the council’s transitional programme manager, Claire Pascoe.
If they want to park, residents will be asked to pay an annual fee of $195 — with permits allowing them to park only within a designated zone.
Once the permit cap is reached, priority will be given to residents by an unconfirmed as yet eligibility criteria.
Permits will be allocated after the eligibility adopted in the 2020 Parking Policy up to 85% of parking spces.
The proposals aim to make life easier for visitors using local businesses. Pascoe told councillors who were concerned about hospital parking for patients, visitors and staff that they were working closely with the hospital which had its own parking plan.
According to the council, the hospital has 5000 staff with up to 1200 using on-street parking. She said there would be enough parking within 10 minutes of the hospital to enable hospital visits but also to enable residents to park conveniently.
Following conversations with business owners and three separate surveys conducted between 2019 and 2022, council said the busy business centres around Riddiford St and Berhampore — which already contain short-stay parking — had been left out of the proposals.
Each household will also receive up to 50 free visitor passes annually for visitors wanting to stay more than two hours.
Around 70% of parking in Newtown will become P120 or resident permit parking, with 30% in Berhampore being affected.
The remaining parking, which isn’t changed under the proposals, will remain unchanged unless removed for the installation of cycle lanes.
Cycle lane alterations will occur along Rintoul St, Luxford St and Adelaide Rd, “improving the bus, bike and walking experience” the proposal said.
Changes include removing parking along Rintoul St to make way for a bike lane – the final piece of a jigsaw connecting Island Bay to the city.
Residents The Post spoke to weren’t impressed, including Monique Nagra, who was worried about the effects on local businesses.
“The last time they put in a cycle lane businesses had to close. I don’t take my car anywhere because it is already so hard to find a park in Newtown.”
Ben Barlow was keen for the cycle lanes but unsure about parking. “I’m all for it but as a tradie it is hard finding parks. Newtown is definitely already hard to park in.”
The cycle lane and parking proposals were presented as separate projects by the council, but will be consulted together later this month, along with plans to reshape Karori’s roads.
The changes in Karori include the removal of 260 metres of bus lanes on the downhill section of Chaytor St and an uphill bike land installed instead so that traffic isn’t held up behind cyclists.
Along Glenmore St, the traffic lanes will remain wide enough for articulated buses, with a cycle lane along one side of the road heading uphill from the city.
Metlink’s principal designer, Alex Campbell, also announced plans for more buses to allow an extra 860 passengers to travel from Karori in the morning rush hour by early 2024.
A number of the 32 bus stops along the No 2 bus route will become in-lane including three along Karori Road.
All plans are part of the Paneke Pōneke Bike Network Plan, which the public can have their say on starting on September 12.