Vibrancy and Growth the Aims of Parking Review

The Council is aiming to increase economic development and vibrancy in New Plymouth’s CBD by better management of car parking.

Today (Tuesday) the Policy Committee gave approval for Council staff to investigate the requirements for private and public parking spaces in the CBD, and how to manage them more efficiently.

The review of CBD parking, by transport policy consultancy MRCagney, came after public concerns that parking requirements for activities in the CBD are too onerous and might be deterring development. The necessity of the requirements was also questioned as they were frequently relaxed for resource consent applications.

“Among the many findings of MRCagney is that we can better manage the requirements around private and public car parking spaces in the CBD so that supply meets the projected demand in the next 20 years,” says Manager Environmental Strategy and Policy Colin Comber.

“If we get our approach right, we can encourage developers to adapt existing buildings to new uses or undertake new development in the central city, which leads to economic growth and greater vibrancy.

“We will consider the parking management as part of a bigger picture of the CBD becoming an attractive environment for all types of travel modes, including walking and cycling.”

Council staff will focus their investigations on five areas:

• Improving data collection methods to monitor in real time the use of car parks and lengths of stay.
• Removing from the District Plan the minimum parking requirements for private development in New Plymouth’s CBD.
• Implementing design guidelines for on-site parking.
• Developing a Parking Management Policy which uses price to encourage use of car parks in low-demand areas, and to lessen demand in areas of high occupancy.
• Making it easier for the public to make choices about car parking, e.g. displaying real-time availability of parking spaces in parking buildings.

Key stakeholders will be consulted as these areas are developed, and any changes will be reported to the Council for its approval.

“We aren’t likely to see great changes happening quickly in the CBD,” says Mr Comber. “The benefits arising from a new approach are likely to take effect gradually as new development occurs.”
 

• A recent Traffic Design Group survey found there are sufficient parking spaces in the CBD to meet average and most peak demands.