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The fee rise of 50 cents an hour will affect the area bounded by Bunny Street, Lambton Quay, Bowen Street, The Terrace, Boulcott Street, Willis Street, Dixon Street, Cuba Street, Jervois Quay and Waterloo Quay.

See a map of the fee increase area (428KB PDF).

Councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman, Wellington City Council’s Transport Strategy and Operations Portfolio Leader, says the Council has responded to feedback that parking is oversubscribed in the central city.

“We’ve been told by residents, retailers and businesses that there’s a lack of parking availability in the high-occupancy areas of the CBD. To maintain a healthy retail and commercial sector in the central city we have to be smarter and more effective in how we make the maximum use of limited parking spaces. Increasing fees in the central city will help us do that.”

The fee increase proposal was part of the Council’s Annual Plan consultation. Residents also had an opportunity to provide feedback through the traffic resolution process earlier in May. Only one submission was received, which was in favour of the fee increase.

Councillor Iona Pannett, Chair of the Council’s City Strategy Committee, which recommended the increase, says parking fees haven’t risen in 13 years.

“Inflation, fees in other major centres, increased demand and traffic management flows were all considered in the officers’ report we considered. They’ve calculated that the 50-cents-an-hour rise will create just over half a million dollars in revenue a year, which will be used to contribute to the cost of road maintenance, which will benefit motorists in the future. Alternatively, rates would have needed to increase by 0.2% to come up with this amount.”

Meters have had stickers on them informing motorists of the increases, and posters have been displayed in the area for the past month.