Two-hour free coupon parking on city fringe could be swapped to meters
Friday, 23 February 2024
The Wellington City Council has nearly 1200 coupon car parks in it sights as it embarks on its proposal for the great parking meter march to suburbia.
The number of paid parks in the central city is expected to more than halve from where it was in 2018 to where it will be by 2028, but the net number of metered parks in the wider city should remain roughly static
That’s mostly because of the proposed conversion of 1199 coupon parks to meters. Coupon parking allows for two hours of free parking, after which an $18 coupon is needed for the day.
The numbers were revealed in answers given to councillors deliberating over the council’s proposed long-term plan.
Pukehīnau/Lambton ward councillor Iona Pannett said all city fringe coupon parking was being investigated for a change to meters, or being made into residents-only parking.
It seemed to be more about sharing resources, with people less able to spend long times on parks, than revenue gathering, she said. She supported the idea in principle, but said it needed more investigation and public consultation.
“Obviously it is a lot more stick, and we need more carrot,” she said. Spending more on bus and cycle lanes would be ideal, as well as a central city congestion charge as part of a wider suite of proposed parking changes.
“We need to reduce inner city parking over time and use the land for public good activities like public transport or green spaces,” she said.
“I would also like zero-fare and better buses so we can have more people living on public transport, walking, and cycling routes.”
Wharangi/Onslow ward councillor Diane Calvert said there were too many sticks and not enough carrots in the coupon-to-meter conversion.
There needed to be more-reliable public transport if the council wanted to get people out of cars, she said.
“We keep telling people how they should be living their lives but we don’t do it ourselves.”
There are also previously reported proposals to introduce parking meters in suburban centres at Island Bay, Kilbirnie, Newlands, Johnsonville and Tawa. All plans are part of the council’s long-term plan, which is about to go through public consultation.
The same answers to councillors show parking, the council’s biggest earner other than rates, added $29 million to council coffers five years ago but this was expected to hit a record-breaking figure of more than $40m this year, before dropping back to about $39m in subsequent years.
Need for the council’s limited cash has spiked recently thanks to a multi-billion-dollar pipe crisis on top of cash blow-outs around the city, while its residents struggle with a cost-of-living crisis and three years of big rates rises while staring down the barrel of the next one being around 12.8%.
The long-term plan process, which the parking changes are part of, has become a de-facto debate about where the council can rein-in spending and where it can find new money.
Mayor Tory Whanau and long-term plan committee chairperson Rebecca Matthews were approached for comment.
By the numbers:
3170: Central city parks in 2018.
2010: Central city parks now.
1477: Central city parks expected in 2028.
1199: Proposed coupon parks turned to metered parks.
$40.9m: Council parking revenue expected this financial year.
$29m: Council parking revenue in 2018/19.
New meters by the suburban centre:
Island Bay (58), Johnsonville (38), Kilbirnie (108), Newlands (61), Tawa (119).