CBD parking rate hiked to $4.50 an hour

Parking fee hikes in Wellington look set to go ahead, as part of a plan to alleviate parking pressure in prime areas of the central city.

Wellington City Council is pushing ahead with its plans to implement an increase in the CBD, lifting the hourly rate from $4 an hour to $4.50.

The price hike, which was expected to create $548,000 in additional revenue, could start in July or early August.

The plan aims to solve the congestion problem by making more spaces available through encouraging better use of parking spaces in less central locations.

Parking fees in the CBD have not increased in 13 years and, in April, business leaders in the city agreed it was time for a review and welcomed the proposal.

A council report says the fee increase was in response to feedback from residents, retailers and business owners concerned about the lack of available parking in the central city.

The increase would also create a greater financial incentive to park in less central locations and is expected to move the vacancy rate closer to the desired 15 per cent, which is recognised internationally as the point at which turnover of spaces is balanced, and motorists can find a spot, the report says.

Councillors will vote on the new fee at a city strategy committee meeting tomorrow. If they approve the increase, it will cover the area bounded by Bunny St, Lambton Quay, Bowen St, The Terrace, Boulcott St, Willis St, Dixon St, Cuba St, Jervois Quay, and Waterloo Quay. The council’s parking policy is up for renewal, and city parking pressures will be further analysed.