Council to scrap proposal for metered parking for Wellington suburbs

Saturday, 25 May 2024

Kilbirnie is one of five suburbs that would have been affected by proposed parking charges.

Wellington City Council is set to abandon a proposal to charge $5 an hour for parking in a handful of local suburbs after “overwhelming” feedback, but it will mean a 0.4% bump in rates.

The parking fees proposal — a late addition to the draft Long Term Plan — would have seen $5/hour metered parking introduced in Island Bay, Kilbirnie, Johnsonville, Tawa and Newlands.

Meeting papers released late on Friday ahead of next week’s long-term plan committee meeting revealed council officers’ recommendations to not include the charges this year.

“We’ve listened to overwhelming public feedback on this, so it is no longer an option we will be looking at going forward,” Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau said.

“That will, however, mean there is likely to be a slight increase in rates to make up for lost revenue.”

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau says the proposed suburban parking charges are no longer an option.

The meeting agenda stated the impact of not proceeding with the plan meant a $2 million reduction in budgeted revenue, “and this will, therefore, result in an increase in the rates of 0.4% for 2024/25”.

Submitter Steve Walters, the general manager of Destination KRL (Kilbirnie, Rongotai, Lyall Bay), was pleased the parking charges were off the table, but said tagging it on to rates was a mistake.

“Our position firmly was: don’t commit more spend, cut costs,” he said. “When you look at an $11.4 billion budget over 10 years, there's got to be some room in there for trimming some of those expenses, as opposed to expecting more out of commercial ratepayers who are already paying more than their fair share of rates.”

Walters’ submission was among more than 4000 received on the draft long term plan. Of those who submitted on the parking proposal, 68% were against the charges, while 18% were in favour.

Key concerns raised were the impact on local businesses and that the fee was too high. There were also questions about whether the demand for parking was sufficiently high in some of the suburbs to justify charging.

Walters said a survey of Destination KRL’s 250 members revealed 85% opposed the metered parking proposal. “So it’ll be met well with those businesses, that’s for sure.”

It was a small silver lining for business owners already feeling the tightened wallets due to the cost of living crisis and public sector cuts, Walters said. “And then when you've got costs increasing as well, it's it's a double whammy.”

Northern ward councillor Ben McNulty says it’s fantastic the feedback was enacted.

Councillor Ben McNulty, whose northern ward includes Johnsonville, Tawa and Newlands, said it was fantastic to see the feedback enacted.

“It will be a great relief for all Wellingtonians to see this one has been taken off the table. It confirms the importance of actually working through the consultation process and having your voice heard.”

Southern ward councillor Nureddin Abdurahman said the parking charges should never have been proposed in the first place when local shops were already struggling.

“The shops in Island Bay and Berhampore have already had a lot of disruption and road cones and this was the last thing they needed.

“These are not multi-million dollar businesses. These are family businesses. I'm very happy, at least in this case, we are listening to the community.”

The meeting papers recommended council officers investigate options for suburban parking where demand was high and report back in time for the 2025/26 annual plan process.

The similarly controversial proposal to introduce metered motorcycle parking in the central city remains on the table.

But while the fee would be “up to $2.50 per hour” the specifics of the fee setting would be determined through a separate traffic resolution consultation process, which would come after the long term plan process, the papers said.

It’s understood a daily cap for riders may be considered as part of this plan, after some suggested commuting motorcyclists would be unfairly disadvantaged.

Feedback on motorcycling charges was evenly divided, with 42% of submitters against the introduction of paid motorcycle parking, and 43% in favour.

Those in support noted motorcycles paying for parking was more equitable, while those in opposition spoke of the benefits of reduced congestion and carbon emissions and said the proposed fee was too high.

Councillors will discuss the recommendations on May 30.