Ratepayers’ gain, motorists’ pain

Wellington motorists could be stung with night parking charges or hourly weekday fee hikes in an effort to keep rates rises down.

It has been revealed Wellington City councillors were presented with the options at a recent closed-door workshop, in which it was suggested hourly central city parking rates could be increased to $4.50 across the board.

Current rates vary from $2.50 or $3.50 on the centre fringes to $4.50 in the main central city.

Other options included extending paid parking to 8pm or 10pm from Monday to Thursday, instead of 6pm.

However, many councillors were unimpressed with the proposals and asked council officers for alternatives.

Tamatha Paul, who holds the climate change and associate community wellbeing portfolios, said the changes involved ‘‘tweaking round the edges’’ and only made people’s lives more difficult.

She advocated for a more ‘‘revolutionary’’ and wideranging solution such as congestion charging.

‘‘This tweaking round the edges stuff is not sustainable.’’

Paul confirmed the proposals were aimed at assessing the revenue the council could make from parking as it developed its 2020-21 draft annual plan.

Extending parking hours beyond 8pm was not practical or safe, she said. ‘‘We simply do not have the public transport infrastructure to support the things happening at night-time.

‘‘And the impact on businesses and the night-time economy – it is just a step too far,’’ Paul said.

Several councillors confirmed an annual plan workshop scheduled for yesterday was cancelled on Tuesday while officers worked on other options.

Mayor Andy Foster did not want to comment and lashed out at councillors for talking publicly about closed-door discussions.

He would not comment on what the extra revenue might be used for but said developing next year’s annual plan budget would be ‘‘incredibly tough’’.

The options put forward by officers were part of normal council process and nothing had been confirmed, he said.

‘‘There are a range of things put to councillors in advance of putting together a draft annual plan,’’ Foster said.

There has reportedly been no mention of Foster’s election promise to reinstate free parking on Sundays.

The postponed workshop is likely to take place within the next couple of weeks.