Wellington City’s mayor has defended the likely decision to take away free weekend parking in the capital, saying businesses were calling out for the change to make car parks available.

The council will vote today after two consultations earlier this year that included feedback from the public and organisations including the Chamber of Commerce, Hospitality Association, Retailers’ Association and Restaurant Association, Mayor Justin Lester said.

Previously, Mr Lester said CBD businesses had subsidised weekend parking through a levy introduced in 1996, but they now want a change to create turnover with car parks.

“Congestion is at its busiest on Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon, when you get to the CBD you can’t find a carpark because they’re all free, they’re all taken,” Mr Lester told TVNZ 1’s Breakfast.

“So what businesses have now told us, look they don’t want to continue subsidising or paying for this free weekend parking, they’d prefer a charge, a small charge, $1.50 to $2.50 an hour, to increase turnover, enhance shopping.”

“More turnover, less congestion and hopefully more parks because at the moment, you can’t really get one.”

Mr Lester said the public had also been consulted as part of the process, with 48 per cent of respondents saying they didn’t want paid parking, 38 per cent said they did while 14 per cent were undecided

“People don’t necessarily like to pay for something when they haven’t had to pay for it before, so we consulted, we had more than 2000 responses.”