Council to review parking enforcement camera car

Wellington City Council is to review the operation of its parking enforcement camera car.
Mayor Celia Wade-Brown asked for the review which will be undertaken by Council staff and completed by the end of March.

The Council's Transport Portfolio Leader, Councillor Andy Foster, says the camera car will have a stronger focus around school zones in February and March.

The review will consider whether the operation of the camera car and other parking enforcement operations need to be modified. The review will include:

• whether there should be more tolerance for short duration parking offences.
• whether some parking spaces should be converted into drop-off and pick-up bays at particular times of the day.
• the ticket appeals process, especially as it relates to the division of duty between the Council and the contractor.

Cr Foster says the Council has already modified the operation of the camera car in recent months, ensuring it drives around the block and takes a second photograph of vehicles double parked before issuing a ticket.

"Parking enforcement is a necessity in any major city for safety, traffic movement and parking space turnover, but we need to ensure that it is done in a way which is generally understood to be fair and reasonable," says Cr Foster.

"The camera car has clearly generated some negative feedback and so we think a review after 18 months in operation is an appropriate response.

"One of the issues we will consider in the review is whether we need to convert some parking spaces in busy areas to allow free parking for five minutes, aka kiss-and-drop areas as we've just started to do outside some schools."

The Council's Walking, Cycling, Motorcycling and Safety Portfolio Leader, Councillor Bryan Pepperell, says a review is an opportunity for the Council to strike the right balance between enforcement and road safety.

"Parking enforcement is essential for the safety of all road users but we also don't want enforcement to unnecessarily impinge on the everyday realities of inner city road use," says Cr Pepperell.

Councillors will be briefed on the outcome of the review.