Two hours free in the CBD could be scrapped

Saturday, 11 November 2023

With city finances in trouble, Hamilton shoppers could be back to paying the full bill for parking in the central city - a move retailers say could set back progress in reviving the area.

The adage ‘look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’ seems to have been taken to heart at the city council, as councillors mull how to overcome a record deficit.

One option tabled by staff during Long Term Plan(LTP) discussion was to remove two hours of free parking in the CBD.

Introduced in 2018 as a fillip for shoppers who had left the CBD for the Base, proponent of the scheme councillor Geoff Taylor says: “councillors made it clear at a briefing on Wednesday that they planned to dump the scheme and start charging residents to park in the central city as part of its Long-Term Plan next year.”

Staff told councillors they could recoup $435k by making shoppers pay for the 333 free parking spaces.

Councillor Geoff Taylor is squarely against the idea to remove free parking.

'If the councillors really want to balance our budgets then stop spending so much money,' said Taylor. 'It's not that hard. Just start saying no occasionally.“

“Don't penalise the retailers and shoppers because we don't have the discipline to cut our cloth accordingly.'

Once all is said and done changes to parking rules in the city would only save the council about $215,000 a year because of a projected reduction in CBD rates take, reduction in parking space occupancy and consultation costs incurred while making the change.

The replacement suggested by staff would see people pay differing amounts depending on the overall demand for parking at the time.

Demand responsive parking would aim to deliver an occupancy rate for space of 85% according to the council’s executive director for infrastructure operations Eeva-Liisa Wright.

However, deputy mayor Angela O’Leary disputes Taylor’s assertion free parking improve’s businesses’ returns.

“It’s time to look at paid parking for the CBD.”

She says rather than an incentive for shoppers, some councillors campaigned on the idea a move she called “purely political”.

Once all is said and done changes to parking rates in the city would only save the council about $215,000 a year.

O’Leary recalls that when free parking was introduced, Hutt City Council had experimented with a similar free parking scheme and suggested Hamilton follow suit.

Taylor said trying to recoup money from car parking was a false economy as a failing central city led to lower property values and ultimately lower rates income. This was exactly what led the council to adopt free parking in 2018, he said.

'The idea was to make going to the central city a positive experience again, as opposed to shoppers heading to The Base or Chartwell Square. It helped to change what had become a negative perception of the CBD.'

Businesses in the central city agreed with Taylor’s assessment.

David Penman, the assistant branch manager of music store the Rockshop said he thought rescinding the free parking would encourage people to shop at the Base where parking is free.

“A store like ours is a destination and shoppers come for something in particular. We’re competing with the base … We would hate to see [free parking] go.”

Taylor said central city businesses favour free parking so much that they help subsidise the cost through the money they pay as part of the Business Improvement District (BID) rate to the council.

Opinion next door at baby clothing shop Purple Patch was similar. Maree, who was managing the shop on Friday morning and didn’t provide a last name, said they need the free parking but “there’s no easy fix to cut costs for the council”.

There’s pedigree when it comes to the effect of removal, too.

The Hamilton Central Business Association’s general manager Vanessa Williams says she is certain her members would be against the suggested removal.

Last year, Tauranga council decided to remove a similar free parking scheme, but in May chose to reinstate free parking after 5pm and on Weekends after a marked downturn in shoppers.

In September, Hamilton City Council returned some formerly free space to paid spots. A $6 a day charge was introduced ostensibly in a move to better manage demand for spaces.

Although she says her members haven’t been consulted formally, general manager of the Hamilton Central Business Association, Vanessa Williams, says: “I would suggest at this stage the response would not be favourable to removing it.”

She says given the current financial climate the scheme has been helpful for hospitality and retail businesses in particular.

She said she “wants to hopefully change a few people’s minds on it,” should it be included in a draft annual plan budget when council reconvenes at the end of the month.