Mayor Andy Foster says the new policy is comprehensive and will set the city up well for the challenges of our changing and growing city.
“This detailed framework will guide future decision-making on the management of all Council-controlled parking spaces across our city. It sets a hierarchy to prioritise spaces for different types of parking in different parts of our city. The policy also provides a new approach to setting parking fees in response to supply and demand and developing area-based parking management plans.”
The Council’s Associate Transport Portfolio Leader, Councillor Jenny Condie, who has responsibility for parking, says the parking policy is a huge piece of work that effects everyone, whether you drive or not.
“It’s really about our public street space, what our street space is for and how we will go about prioritising the use of it. One of the drivers of this is the Let’s Get Wellington Moving [LGWM] project which is an exciting step-change in how we move around and through our city.
“LGWM will require extra space on our streets. Wellington streets are narrow and our geography means they are also often winding and steep. We don’t have a lot of spare space on our streets, or the opportunity to widen them. As pressure come onto uses of street space, such as parking, we need to be really clear what our priorities are for the greatest public good.
“The changes won’t happen overnight; they will be incremental and will align with other transport improvement projects,” says Councillor Condie.
The Parking Policy was adopted by the full Council today (26 August). The agenda, reports and minutes for this meetings can be found here. Background information can be found here.