Paid parking considered for downtown Mount Maunganui but ‘conflict’ and ‘difficulty’ expected

Parking at one of New Zealand’s most popular beaches may come at a cost from next year but the proposed move is already being met with opposition.

Charges could be introduced in the retail area of Maunganui Rd and along the beachfront of the picturesque seaside suburb as part of a new parking management plan.

The plan is aimed at freeing up parking spaces by dissuading motorists from using a spot for extended periods of time but has already sparked opposition among locals - with city leaders saying such a move could be “difficult” and fraught with conflict.

Several beachgoers spoken to on Wednesday objected to the prospect of paying for parking and a business owner said it could kill the town centre.

Tauranga City Council parking strategy manager Reece Wilkinson told commissioners in a meeting on Monday the plan had already caused a lot of anxiety.

“I’ve had people - council staff and members of the public - raise their concerns that we are just going to sweep in and make things $10 a minute and be quite aggressive with it but this is the start of a discussion,” Wilkinson said.

“There isn’t this big formal sweeping change.”

Based on CBD hourly parking charges, which are $2 per hour and $5 each hour after that, revenue was estimated to be $1.6 million.

As well as freeing up parking spaces, the plan sought to better cater for business needs as well as worker parking and to reduce the amount of traffic circling the area to locate a parking space during peak times. The council hoped to implement the changes in time for the 2024 tourist season.

There were 2600 parking spaces in the downtown Mount area and 83 per cent of these were uncontrolled.

A survey on August 19 northwest of Sutherland Ave showed the average length of stay was two hours, with about 859 vehicles parking for longer than an hour.

Wilkinson said a lack of parking enforcement in Mount Maunganui had created a culture of indifference toward parking rules. Time-restricted parks were seen as polite suggestions rather than actual rules, he said.

“In the private sector, we’ve tried paid parking before - $1 for 12 hours. Nobody paid it. It was very unsuccessful.”

The parking management plan was needed due to the population growth of Mount Maunganui which meant locals, visitors and workers were competing for parking spaces, Wilkinson said.

Slow traffic and a lack of parking spaces is a typical scene at Mount Maunganui during summer. Photo / George Novak

“One idea we have is charging during summer, peak season, and making it free during the off-season.”

Providing worker passes for people working in the area was also a possibility, he said.

“We are finding there’s a sizeable push for people that want to go to that area and spend money, they have targeted purposes for going there but they can’t get a park.”

Wilkinson referenced examples of people parking early in the morning or the night before to ensure they had a park for the entire day - preventing others from using it.

Other motorists ended up driving a “circle of death” unsuccessfully trying to find a parking space, contributing to congestion, he said.

“In these different areas, we are very aware that there are very different focuses. Long-term residents are fighting with visitors. We need to find that balance, that compromise.”

Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said some people had already made up their minds about what the council was going to do “and they don’t like it”.

“People don’t realise there is actually a cost to the ratepayer for parking.”

The annual aggregate cost for the Mount’s 1087 beachfront parks was $10.3m.

Commissioner Stephen Selwood said the proposal would likely result in robust conversations.

“That is going to be very difficult but you can’t do that until you understand all of the pressures. There will be conflict. People will want to spend all day at the beach and residents will want parking. The more information we can get from these individual stakeholders, [that] is really important,” Selwood said.

Businessman Matt Hayward, who owns Sailor - Galley and Rum Bar, Hide Thirst and Hunger and Mount Brewing Co Brewery in downtown Mount Maunganui, told the Bay of Plenty Times he was yet to hear of any parking complaints from staff or customers.

If people were unable to park in an ideal spot, they were happy to park further away and walk. There was no need for bringing in parking restrictions, he said.

“I think the community will have real serious issues with this,” Hayward said.

“I can’t think of a single member of the community who will have a reason for supporting this. Maybe people who have lived here their whole lives ... who don’t want people down at the Mount.”

Hayward previously owned bars and restaurants in Tauranga’s CBD and was a board member for Downtown Tauranga when the council introduced parking restrictions there.

In his view, charging for parking “killed” city and town centres and in this instance made it even harder for retailers in areas such as downtown Mount Maunganui to compete with satellite shopping centres such as Bayfair and Tauranga Crossing that offered free parking.

Matt Hayward, pictured in 2017.

Hayward said that at his establishments, people often came and parked their car nearby overnight to enjoy a few drinks and a meal. If they faced fines or bills for this, it would likely prevent them from having those drinks and a meal, or potentially encourage them to drive home afterwards regardless.

“None of that is good for the community,” he said.

“There’s nothing to be fixed so don’t try to fix it.”

At the Main Beach on Wednesday, Tauranga woman Kahleal Bidois said she regularly had trouble finding a park and often circled the area three to four times before success.

Mount resident Dylan Dimmock said he didn’t believe people should have to pay for a public space such as the beach.

Dimmock said that while it probably wouldn’t put some people off, he would avoid parking anywhere at the beach where he was expected to pay.

Another Mount Maunganui resident said she could understand why paid parking could be an issue, especially for families visiting the area.

Others said they opposed the idea because it would ruin the relaxed culture and feel of Mount Maunganui.

The consultation is expected to run concurrently with the draft Long-term Plan consultation. The final plan is expected to be influenced by community views.