Nelson Airport mobility parking problem fixed

An oversight in Nelson Airport car park planning has been fixed, after mobility parking spaces were charged premium prices.

The first stage of the new airport opened in October, complete with a parking component valued at $8 million, with three tiers of parking at different costs – premium, main and value.

Visitors to the airport requiring mobility parking spaces have a choice of parking in the premium carpark, which is the most convenient and closest to the terminal, at $5 an hour. The main parking area charges $3 an hour, while value is $2 an hour, but both these options are further away from the terminal entrance.

Nelson Airport chief executive Rob Evans said the mobility parking issue was highlighted in early April and corrected.

‘‘There are disabled parks in all three [car parks], but they are not at premium rate, so we encourage disabled drivers to use the premium, and they can get their car park ticket validated to the same price as the main car park.’’

Mobility parking users in the premium area can take their ticket to the security team and get their parking at a reduced rate.

Evans said there was more mobility parking coming in the next six months as construction of the new terminal continued.

Meanwhile, some Nelsonians have posted on social media site Neighbourly, calling the premium car park system a waste of space.

Nelson resident, Robin Fullmer said she was ‘‘disappointed’’ with the changes, which created nearly 200 spaces in the premium area and just over 500 in the main area.

She said she had never seen more than a few cars in the premium section, while in the main car park, she often struggled to find a space, especially during bad weather.

‘‘People naturally have an aversion to being ripped off and paying too much for something they can get cheaper.’’

Evans said that while the main car park was ‘‘the most popular at the moment’’, there was the option of the cheaper value park.

He said the parking zones were providing ‘‘different levels of service and different levels of convenience to different types of market’’.

A lot of money had gone into the development and growth of the multimillion-dollar parking component, Evans said.

‘‘The growth has been so much, we needed to try and keep up. We designed it three years ago, and we’re already seeing areas that are under stress. That’s how quickly things are changing.’’

The final stage of the redevelopment was under way and due for opening around late October, he said, with the entire project set to be finished before the end of the year.