Waitakere seeks views on proposed parking changes

Waitakere City Council is seeking community views on proposed changes to parking in town centres and some of the main road corridors.

The initial consultation on these changes is occurring over November and December with a range of stakeholders, including businesses, developers and some town centre residents. In addition to stakeholder meetings, feedback on the options is also encouraged via the council’s website or call centre or by post. Further consultation with the general public will take place early next year.

The proposed changes affect New Lynn, Henderson, Glen Eden, Te Atatu Peninsula, Ranui and Swanson, along with the Lincoln Road and Hobsonville Road growth corridors.

Three options have been developed for public comment:

The first retains the existing minimum parking requirements for new developments but would give the council more flexibility to allow less parking than prescribed.

A second option would introduce parking maximum requirements for new developments, set at around the current minimum number of parks allowed. This option offers flexibility to grant an exception by allowing more parks if they can be justified by the developer and if it supports the town centre goals. Some businesses that may require parking in excess of the maximum, e.g. supermarkets, malls and bulk retail stores. This is currently council’s preferred option. District Plan Changes introducing parking maximums for Westgate have already been proposed.

The third but more restrictive option is to introduce maximum parking requirements for new developments, which over time would reduce the number of car parks that could be provided on a particular site. This would only apply to areas where high levels of public transport services are available. This is the option proposed in the Auckland Regional Council’s Draft Regional Parking Strategy.

Detailed information on these three options is available on the Have Your Say section of the council’s website, www.waitakere.govt.nz.  

“As the number of people living and working in Waitakere grows, we need to ensure that improved approaches to the management of parking are incorporated into the long-term planning for the city,” says Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse.

“We need to find ways of making best use of the limited available land in our town centres and growth corridors in order to encourage the level of development that will increase local employment opportunities.”

Following the initial consultation process, a draft Waitakere City Parking Plan and draft Town Centre Parking Management Plans (PMPs) will be drawn up for New Lynn, Henderson and Westgate-Massey North and prepared for formal consultation (which will include hearings) with the public and interested community groups early next year. At that point, the council will consider the feedback on the draft plans and make appropriate changes before the plans are finalised. The council will consider these plans for adoption by September 2009.

The feedback form and additional information is available online at http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/HavSay/parking.asp , or from the council’s 24-hour call centre on 839 0400. The deadline for providing feedback to the council is 5pm on 10 December 2008.