Clogged parking in Wellesley St in this view from near the health centre looking towards the new departmental building. Photo / Paul Taylor
Clogged parking in Wellesley St in this view from near the health centre looking towards the new departmental building. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Napier City Council is considering street parking limits around a new Government building which was built with little to no allowance for on-site parking for up to 300 staff.
It follows complaints from small businesses now suffering from the departmental staff and client use of street parking outside their premises in Kennedy and Wellesley roads, with at least one proprietor considering a relocation of a long-standing business if there is no early remedy.
At the centre of the problem is the new Tuhinapo Building (locally known as the MSD building), to which up to 300 MSD (Work and Income), Kainga Ora Housing and Communities and Oranga Tamariki Ministry for Children staff relocated last August from Dalton House and Vautier House.
Parking problem around the two-storey leased building escalated with more face-to-face appointments for clients in the relaxation of Covid-19 controls before Christmas.
Small business operators say departmental staff have been using street parking up to 1km away, as well as some using shopping centre, supermarket and customer-based off-street parking.
Aware of the complaints, and conceding there was no provision for other than departmental basement parking and a small number of spaces for clients for its services, the MSD has placed a sign on its door asking visitors to use the 17-bay off-street parking.
MSD regional commissioner Karen Bartlett said the department currently has 195 people working from the building, with capacity for 300. There is a 52-bay basement carpark for 52 MSD vehicles and there is parking for up to 17 vehicles on-site outside for clientele of all three tenancies.
Kainga Ora regional director Naomi Whitewood said about 50 staff work out of the Kāinga Ora offices, with 25 carparks allocated for staff vehicles - 14 in the basement and 11 in the street level carpark.
Street parking congestion is being felt as far away as Kennedy Road. Photo NZME
"Most Kāinga Ora staff are in and out of the building all day visiting customers and checking on building sites," she said. "So, at times it may appear that there are many empty car parking spaces."
When a Hawke's Bay Today photographer visited the area late last week, street parking was near filled in the several hundred metres from the building, including outside small businesses in Kennedy Rd.
Mid-morning on Friday there was just one single street-parking space empty in Wellesley Rd between the railway line end and the Raffles St roundabout, apart from a small number of limited spaces outside the Napier Health Centre.
Bartlett said the MSD is aware of a complaint from one business about MSD clients using their carpark.
"Parking can be a challenge in the central city at peak times," she said. "Our staff ask clients to not use parking that is for commercial businesses and use the MSD carparks instead. We've also put a notice on our front door to support this."
Napier City Council team leader planning and compliance Luke Johnson said a traffic impact assessment, which included addressing matters relating to parking, was submitted with the application for resource consent, but there had not been any canvassing of the businesses and residents in the area.
The Napier District Plan ("NDP") specifies parking ratios for various land uses, at one park for every 50 square metres provided for office accommodation, resulting in a requirement for 93 spaces for the 4625sqm of the development, plus three for disability access.
The development proposed a total of 106 parking spaces made up of 52 in the basement and 54 at ground level, plus four motorbike parking spaces in the basement.
"There have been a number of complaints," Johnson said. "To ease these issues of parking outside businesses etc council are looking into imposing P15 and P60 parking restrictions along Kennedy Road."
It is also "looking to engage a consultant to understand the options for improving on street parking within the area."
The Soap Laundromat, more than 200 metres away on Kennedy Rod, is among the businesses hit by the problem, its proprietor saying there are no longer any empty carpark spaces directly outside during working hours – "due to MSD staff taking them all up."
He said some customers are driving on to the footpath to drop off their laundry, and some double park on busy main thoroughfare Kennedy Rd.
Another a further 100-150 metres away, between Nelson Cr and McDonald St, said there had been no problems in the 15 years in the business, until the last few months.
The business needs at least four spaces outside for regular customer use by customers who appreciate the "in off the street" convenience, the proprietor said.
"It definitely affects us, and there is the overflow effect, from those who can't find a space outside the laundromat," she said.
They had sent an email to the council but not had a direct response and she told Hawke's Bay Today: "We might have to consider relocating."
