Let's Talk About the Draft District Parking Strategy

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This consultation has concluded

Public parking is a crucial part of the transport network for the Waimakariri District. It can affect many aspects of people’s journeys including accessibility, safety, congestion, travel times and the appeal of Waimakariri as a destination. It also supports our economic development and growth potential by providing access to a range of employment, business, retail, recreational and social activities.

The Waimakariri District Council is responsible for managing public parking to ensure fair access for residents and visitors. On a day-to-day basis we oversee all on-street and off-street public parking across the District.

There are a few key issues that we need to carefully consider when planning for our future public car parking needs, these include our growing population, community expectations, transport emission targets, urban design, alternative transport modes and costs to the ratepayer

It's important to note that this strategy doesn’t get into detailed planning about where and how carparking will be provided, rather it contains 18 policies that give strategic direction for parking management in the Waimakariri District and provides guidance to Council staff when planning for parking.

The draft has already had input from the community through a parking survey in which our residents shared with us what they saw as the key parking issues. You can find out more about the results of that survey below.

We encourage you to look through the full draft District Parking Strategy and share your feedback with us. Submissions close on Sunday 14 November.

Public parking is a crucial part of the transport network for the Waimakariri District. It can affect many aspects of people’s journeys including accessibility, safety, congestion, travel times and the appeal of Waimakariri as a destination. It also supports our economic development and growth potential by providing access to a range of employment, business, retail, recreational and social activities.

The Waimakariri District Council is responsible for managing public parking to ensure fair access for residents and visitors. On a day-to-day basis we oversee all on-street and off-street public parking across the District.

There are a few key issues that we need to carefully consider when planning for our future public car parking needs, these include our growing population, community expectations, transport emission targets, urban design, alternative transport modes and costs to the ratepayer

It's important to note that this strategy doesn’t get into detailed planning about where and how carparking will be provided, rather it contains 18 policies that give strategic direction for parking management in the Waimakariri District and provides guidance to Council staff when planning for parking.

The draft has already had input from the community through a parking survey in which our residents shared with us what they saw as the key parking issues. You can find out more about the results of that survey below.

We encourage you to look through the full draft District Parking Strategy and share your feedback with us. Submissions close on Sunday 14 November.

This consultation has concluded

  • What is the draft District Parking Strategy?

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    The draft District Parking Strategy outlines the ways in which Council will supply and manage public parking to ensure it’s provided for our community at the right location, right time, right price and with the right management controls.

    At the heart of the draft District Parking Strategy are 18 policies (see the back page) which address the competing demands for public parking space and a diverse range of parking issues.

    The Strategy doesn’t get into detailed planning about where and how carparking will be provided, rather it provides strategic direction for parking management in the Waimakariri District and provides guidance to Council staff when planning for parking.

    It’s supported by the Parking Bylaw 2019 which sets general requirements for parking controls and our parking management plans which plan for locations with special requirements like our town centres.

    In summary, the purpose of the draft Parking Strategy is to:

    • Outline parking policies that will guide our actions and help us manage parking more effectively and efficiently.

    • Provide guidance about where and when it may be appropriate to supply additional parking.

    • Demonstrate to the public how public parking is to be managed.

    • Address key parking issues within the District.

  • What are the Key Issues?

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    1. Parking supply

    With a growing population, there will be more pressure on parking.

    We estimate that within the Rangiora Town Centre alone, we’ll need to supply an additional 800 carparks by 2048, assuming the current levels of private motor vehicle reliance stay relatively the same.

    There is limited land in some of our town centres for developing new carparks and it’s possible we’d lose access to land we’re currently leasing for temporary parking as new private development occurs.

    2018 census data shows that 59.45% of New Zealand households have access to two or more cars per home, meaning there is a strong reliance on private motor vehicle travel and its associated parking.

    The National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 (NPS-UD) removes minimum parking standards for new developments, which may mean we’ll need to address any resulting car parking shortfalls due to limited public and alternative transport opportunities for our rural communities.

    Supplying additional car parking is also expensive; particularly on premium town centre land and places a burden on the community to pay for more expensive parking infrastructure.

    2. Parking demand

    There is a high demand for parking in the Blake and Ashley Street public carparks in Rangiora, which at times results in occupancy higher than desired levels. Elsewhere, we also have suburban or rural shopping centres, retirement homes, schools, churches etc. which place pressure on the local parking supply at peak times.

    Some people prefer to park in immediate proximity to their desired destination rather than walking for a few minutes, which can often be perceived as a shortage of supply. There is also a growing demand for all-day parking options within the town centre for workers who need to come and go during the daily course of their business operations.

    As the cost of managing existing parking and funding an increased supply escalates, we’ll need to explore ways in which it can be made more affordable for the ratepayer. The introduction of user-pays parking could help, but we’d need to consider any potential for adverse impacts on shopping/visitation behaviour and the economic performance of the District.

    The cost of new car parking can range from $5,500 for one ground-level park to around $30,000-$35,000 for a single park in a multi-level parking building.

    It’s important to note that the public perception of parking availability can be at odds with actual supply. There can often be a disconnect between ideal levels of parking as determined by specialist transport consultants and public expectations.

    3. On-street parking space management

    Changing priorities in transport and the move to alternative transport modes such as bicycles, e-scooters and car ride share services place increasing competition on some on-street parking.

    Our aging population may also require different priorities from our management of on-street parking spaces, for instance additional mobility parking.

    It’s estimated that in the Waimakariri District in 2020, 34% of the local population is aged 40-64 years and 20% are 65 years or over.

    4. Transport emissions

    As our District is rural in nature, there is a high reliance on cars for travel when compared to other metropolitan areas. Due to limited public transport options, and with active transport modes such as cycling not always being appropriate for wide travel within the District, it is harder to transition the community out of their vehicles.

    While it’s important that we don’t oversupply parking and incentivise increased transport emissions, we must provide sufficient parking to meet the needs of the community as we transition through the various transport changes over the coming years, such as the move to electric vehicles.

    Over the long-term, we could see a reduction in parking demand against projected requirements depending on the type of alternative transport technologies that are commonly adopted and with improved public transport options. However, a reasonably high level of car parking is still likely to be required to meet the travel and access needs of the community.

    5. Ratepayer perceptions

    The Council undertakes regular customer satisfaction surveys to measure residents’ opinions on Council services and facilities, including parking. While most respondents are generally satisfied with off-street parking in the District, there is a growing perception that more supply is required.

    A short community parking survey (Let’s Talk Parking) was completed earlier this year to identify parking issues from the community’s perspective. According to the 400 respondents, the top three issues were: an undersupply of carparks (49% of contributors), traffic flow/congestion on the main streets in the town centres (39%), and limited town centre parking for all day workers (37%).

  • The Policies

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    These 18 policies form the core of our future parking strategy and provide a framework that responds to key parking issues within the District. For more detail of each of the policies, please review the full draft Parking Strategy document or visit waimakariri.govt.nz/letstalk

    • Policy 1 looks at on-street parking and determines what uses should be prioritised in our town centre, business, residential, industrial and rural areas.
    • Policies 2 - 4 primarily address managing the Council’s parking supply across the District.
    • Policies 5 and 6 look at how we use restrictions for various forms of parking and the situations under which further parking controls might need to be implemented.
    • Policy 7 summarises how Council would manage priced parking should it be implemented sometime in the future. Currently public parking within the Waimakariri District is free.
    • Policies 8 – 14 outline a range of actions or principles for types of parking that require a specific rather than generalised response, such as all-day parking or park and ride.
    • Policy 15 shows how Council will monitor and measure the ongoing performance of the existing parking network.
    • Policies 16 and 17 relate to parking enforcement and greater visibility around parking with better signage in our town centres.
    • Policy 18 proposes the creation of parking management plans that will guide how parking will be managed in locations that require specific plans such as our Rangiora and Kaiapoi town centres.