It comes as the commercial heart of Tauranga continues to struggle against the retail might of malls and suburban shopping centres where parking is free.
Downtown shop owners, often small business owners who take immense pride in the products and services they offer, have had to grapple with a drop in spending due to the recession and a general move to online shopping.
Parking restrictions, specifically the odds of getting a parking ticket in the CBD, have also put them at a disadvantage to other shopping areas in the Bay that provide free parking.
Free parking would have put them on an equal footing with the city's other shopping centres. Retailers would have been hoping the petition might change the council's mind.
It was not to be.
The council said the costs would need to be recovered to avoid the parking operation becoming a burden on ratepayers.
The other fish hook, in my view, would be dissuading office workers from taking up the parks all day.
As this paper has noted before, a vibrant town centre can galvanise a community. Town centres provide a focal point and an identity.
They provide variety and atmosphere, in contrast to the uniformity often seen in malls dominated by chain stores and fast-food outlets.
Given its important role in our community, any impediments to downtown shopping should be removed. Hopefully, the city council can resolve the issues associated with free parking in the downtown so its retailers will be able to compete on equal terms with other shopping centres and malls in the region.
We risk losing the focal point of our community if nothing is done to even the playing field.
