Car poolers get priority at North Shore station

Mayor Andrew Williams. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Commuters' cars with two or more occupants will get parking spots nearer to the Albany Station on the Northern Busway, under a trial starting on October 1.

Most weekdays, the 555 spaces at Albany are full from an early hour and latecomers have to make a 10-minute walk.

This had been the case for three years during which the station recorded a 60 per cent increase in peak-time use by people catching the Northern Flyer across the Harbour Bridge to downtown Auckland.

North Shore City Council is designing an extension to the parking spaces, and is considering a $4 million option to fill in a pond and double the parking.

Mayor Andrew Williams said the focus should be on getting more people on to buses, rather than more cars in the parking place.

He said creating an incentive for people to share their cars would leave more parks for others.

On Tuesday, the council agreed to have preferential parking on 86 Albany spaces for a one-year trial.

If the scheme is successful, it might be extended to the equally popular and consistently full Constellation Drive Station.

The council also decided to include Devonport ferry terminal carpark in the trial, though use of the 28 allocated spaces by car poolers is likely to be minimal.

Policing of cheats will be on a random basis at Devonport but at Albany, commuters with only one in the car and sneaking up the front will be caught on the station's security cameras.