New parking meters on Rutland Street were activated in August. Photo / Mike Tweed
New parking meters on Rutland Street were activated in August. Photo / Mike Tweed
Residents in Whanganui’s CBD want a parking permit introduced after working out that paying to park on their street would cost just under $5000 a year.
Drews Ave resident James Higgins said people were “being pushed further back down Bell St and spilling into residential streets” to find free parking after meters were added to neighbouring Rutland and Ridgway streets.
“It’s not uncommon that, if you don’t have a parking space, you’re 15 to 20 minutes away from where you’re living - outside someone else’s house.”
He said that meant young families and people with disabilities or illnesses were also getting pushed out and cars were at greater risk of being stolen or broken into.
Paid parking in the CBD applies between 8am and 5pm and costs $2 an hour.
Higgins said if he paid for the 260 days a year required, it would cost “just shy of $5000″.
However, vehicles can only remain in paid parking for a maximum of two hours.
Fourteen new parking meters became active on St Hill, Guyton, Rutland and Ridgway streets on August 5, with parking charges rising to $2 an hour in the CBD except Victoria Ave, which is $3.
“They are normally pretty good, they park further out to let the customers in, so that is putting some pressure on them because they have to get all the way back, or there are additional costs,” he said.
Overstaying in a spot for more than 30 minutes incurs a fine of $20 and that rises to $97 if the vehicle has overstayed by more than six hours.
The new amounts came into effect on October 1.
Higgins said using the Phoenix carpark on Drews Ave would also cost about $5000 a year and hiring a council carpark at $30 a week came out at $1560 a year.
He said he and his partner currently split the cost of a private car park in the Phoenix space.
“[Just under $5000] is 7.7% of his annual income on parking his car outside his residence.
“I might expect that for somewhere like Auckland but not in Whanganui.”
From a resident perspective, a parking permit would be ”a simple solution” and one that was used around the world, Higgins said.
“You could put an arbitrary fee of $100 or $150 per year and limit them to a street or two around their address they could park on.”
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe told the Chronicle a number of people enjoyed inner-city living and the council needed to ensure there was provision for them.
“At the moment, it’s not reflected in our policies,” he said.
“Other cities across New Zealand are doing this [parking permits] and we need to play in that space.
“We are a growing city with a vibrant city centre. It should not be difficult to implement something like this.”
Councillor Kate Joblin asked whether Higgins had any thoughts about how introducing a permit could impact parking during peak times.
He said most residents took their cars to work and peak congestion on Drews Ave and Rutland St usually occurred after paid parking times.
“During the day, where you [council] originally put parking in to increase the turnover of spaces, you probably aren’t going to have too much of an issue.”
After Higgins’ presentation, Tripe said he would ask council chief executive David Langford to follow up on the issue.
Tripe told the Chronicle that CBD living should be encouraged and part of that was parking.
“For me, the measure of a healthy city is its inner city vibe and pulse.
“What we don’t want is the opposite - a deserted and unwelcoming inner city.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
