Parks for commuters

Parking changes designed to stop the so-called commuter shuffle are forcing some Hamilton CBD workers to seek other options.

Two hours free in the CBD is a Hamilton City Council trial. Parking charges kick in only after the two hours, but they’re steep - $6 for the third and subsequent hours.

Park-hopping to escape costs isn’t an option - wardens will scan vehicles and link parking time to number plates.

As commuters search for another solution, a city parking building has experienced an increase in inquiries and council is scoping the city fringes and looking into park-and-ride options.

‘‘Commuters were worried about - now that their registration plate’s going in - how they won’t be able to park hop or use the restricted time parking,’’ council parking team leader John Purcell said.

Even under the old 120-minute limit, commuters shouldn’t have been in central parks, he said.

There are about 3500 spots available on the fringes of Hamilton, according to a recent Automatic Number Plate Recognition survey, he said. About 11,500 vehicles already park around the edge of the city daily.

Council provided a list of underused areas for commuters who either don’t mind a walk or could link with the free CBD shuttle to reach their place of work.

Sneaky spots can be found in the north end of the city around northern Tristram, Willoughby, Abbotsford and Edgecumbe streets.

There’s also space across the river in Thames Street or Oakley Avenue, Marne Street or Casey Avenue, council said.

In the southwest around Lake Rotoroa, Lake Domain and Rotoroa drives have unrestricted parking.

In the southeast, council’s suggestions are Jellicoe Drive and Macfarlane Street.

Some are two to three kilometres from the town centre, and council suggests connecting with the free CBD bus. It circulates anticlockwise through the CBD every 10 minutes from 7am on a loop from Anzac Parade to Liverpool Street.

Parking task force chair Geoff Taylor said public or active transport and commuter issues are on the parking task force’s radar.

The group is looking into the possibility of park-and-ride spaces - for example, near Claudelands Event Centre.

Council has also suggested commuters use car-park buildings.

Centre Place’s shopper-focussed car park has had a recent increase in inquiries and its small leased parking section is now full, centre manager Maureen Pearce said.

A few more spaces have been made available, she said, and the two early bird parking levels are well used.

Wilson Parking operates almost 1000 bays in the Hamilton area and doesn’t have wait lists, a spokeswoman said.

The parks are a mix of short stay, early bird and monthly parking - including at the Farmers Car Park, starting from $180 a month.

Secure Parking has almost 700 parks in the city, offering a mix of reserved and unreserved spaces, and has monthly spots available.

‘‘At the moment, where monthly bookings are available, there are spaces available in all car parks we operate in Hamilton,’’ a statement from New Zealand general manger Rob Harman said.

Prices range from $35 a month for an unreserved space in Kent Street car park to $270 a month for a reserved space in the Garden Place car park.