Tauranga City Council should shelve any thoughts of changing Elizabeth St for at least five years.
On-street parking is important for people who only want to pop into town for up to an hour, for the restaurant and cinema trade at night and for the overall convenience of angle parking.
Further, Elizabeth St is a main source of dispersing traffic going to and from the expressway, Cameron Rd and Devonport Rd.
It is already subject to a two-year disruption with the construction of the Farmers' building.
Ratepayers have seen the congestion fiasco re Cameron Rd in Greerton, Phoenix carpark, and Durham St (looks nice but was it worth it?).