Parking problems
Residents face hike in permit costs
Wellington City councillors are sticking to the script as they throw their weight behind a proposal which would raise the yearly cost of residents’ parking by more than 50 per cent.
A yearly permit now costs $126.50 but, if the proposal is approved, it will jump to $195. Monthly parking permits would increase from $10 to $17 – a 70 per cent rise.
While councillors Brian Dawson and Chris Calvi-Freeman are backing the proposal, residents’ opposition is growing.
Newtown resident of 10 years Chris Ogden signed a petition against the potential parking changes, which are out for public consultation until Wednesday, May 8, as part of the council’s draft 2019/20 Annual Plan.
She believes the proposal is ‘‘ridiculous’’ and ‘‘just another way of making money.’’
‘‘Why penalise us just because we haven’t got a garage?’’ Ogden asked.
Mt Cook resident Sophia Grey condemned the proposal on social media. ‘‘Mostly, everyone seems pretty p ..... off.’’
She believed the additional cost was ‘‘essentially a tax on the poor, because people who are rich enough can obviously park off-road’’.
‘‘I’m flatting. We don’t have a garage. I’ve got nowhere to put my car,’’ Grey said.
‘‘They are basically demonising people who have cars and people who live within the bounds of registered parking and it’s not very fair ... I can barely afford to live in Wellington anyway, considering how rents [are] going up.’’
‘‘They are basically demonising people who have cars.’’ Mt Cook resident Sophia Grey
Teacher and Newtown resident Jemima Hales said the additional cost was significant. ‘‘I’d like to know why they need to increase it so much . . . it’s a huge jump. I’m a single mum so I don’t have a lot of spare cash available.’’
Resident parking zones in Clifton, Kelburn, Kilbirnie, Mt Victoria, Mt Cook, Newtown, Te Aro and Thorndon are included in proposed changes. Miramar South has been excluded.
Dawson, councillor for Lambton ward, said the current fee ‘‘needed to be looked at’’ as it had not increased for some time.
‘‘Residents’ parking has been extraordinarily cheap, and it’s still going to be very cheap even under the new proposal – so we’re talking about 50 cents a day – so I have no great problem with that.
‘‘When you consider you’re paying $4.50 an hour to park in the CBD, you can’t actually say it’s outrageously expensive.’’
Calvi-Freeman, the council’s transport strategy and operations portfolio leader, said the cost increases being considered were still ‘‘fair and reasonable’’.