Mobility parking a tough spot to find
Tasman District Council will reconsider the location of a planned mobility parking space in the Golden Bay settlement of Collingwood after concerns were raised by residents.
The mobility parking space was set to be painted along Tasman St outside the On the Spot Collingwood General Store.
However, store owner-operator Rosemary Moretti asked the Golden Bay Community Board to discuss the matter. During the public forum section of a community board meeting on Tuesday, an email from Moretti was read by Golden Bay ward councillor Chris Hill.
‘‘This is going to cause more problems than anything else as we do not require this,’’ Hill read from Moretti’s email. ‘‘We’ve no-one asking us for this, and it will only make parking out the front of the store even more awkward than it is already. It would be better placed across the road, in front of the Memorial Hall.’’
Moretti also wrote that at times in summer, some people parked for long periods outside the store while they were on tours of Farewell Spit ‘‘making parking a premium out front’’. She suggested time-restricted parking along the shop side of the street during the busy summer season.
Golden Bay resident Reg Turner spoke in support of Moretti’s comments.
Turner said after he received a copy of the proposal to locate the mobility parking space outside the store, ‘‘I suddenly realised no, that’s not the right place’’. So, he spoke to Moretti and asked her to write the letter.
‘‘I just want to endorse what she’s asked for,’’ Turner said.
Board member Grant Knowles, who was the leading the meeting, said a mobility parking space had been ‘‘on the cards for a while’’. He wondered who made the decision and why it was earmarked for in front of the store.
Golden Bay ward councillor Celia Butler said the matter was raised by the police originally, who had been asked by a person with a disability to arrange for a mobility parking space. ‘‘It’s got quite a long history,’’ she said.
Hill said it would be good to discuss the matter with council staff to find out what was happening.
‘‘Has a decision been made? If there has, does it matter if it gets changed? What are the criteria that they take into account? Has the shop owner been spoken with?’’
Board chairperson Abbie Langford, who attended via Zoom, said she was happy to ‘‘have a chat’’ with council staff.
After the meeting, council transportation manager Jamie McPherson said the council would look again at the location ‘‘to make sure it’s the best position’’.
McPherson said the council received many requests for time-restricted parking and if there was an issue in Collingwood, it could be considered.