Tauranga city councillor John Robson is looking forward to a "damn good debate" when the controversial issue of free parking in the downtown rears its head in three weeks.
He is part of a group that has been working with staff to produce five options ranging from the status quo to free parking with time limits.
Shoppers can currently park virtually anywhere in the city centre for as long as they like, provided they feed the meter.
One option was to make permanent the special Christmas-January deal of free parking after 3pm.
Cr Robson said free after three was easy to communicate, it filled the afternoon slot when parking demand dropped and bridged the gap so that people could go from late afternoon shopping to enjoying a drink and a meal.