North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Car park sale opposed
A local board has refused to receive a report into the state of car parking in its area, because members are unsatisfied with the results.
The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board called for a report into parking in Browns Bay town centre, after Auckland Council considered divesting a portion of off-street parking owned by Panuku Development in April.
But board member David Cooper wasn’t happy with the results.
‘‘This report says exactly how things are now. It doesn’t give any inference as to what things would look like if they took this car park away,’’ Cooper said at the August 16 board meeting. ‘‘It’s a very comprehensive report but it doesn’t address our concerns.’’
The car park at 19 Anzac Rd contains 58 spots, and makes up almost a third of all the suburb’s off-street parking.
The report references the AT Parking Strategy, which sets a target of 85 per cent occupancy for on and off-street car parks.
But the average peak occupancy of the site was 61 per cent on weekdays and 67 per cent on weekends, according to parking surveys over six days.
The local board refused to accept the report and asked Auckland Council’s governing body to continue to delay the proposed disposal till the board had the chance to consider the parking study.
They wanted a look into the potential impact of the removal.