Latest news with #TaurangaCityCouncil
1News
3 days ago
- Business
- 1News
Tauranga CBD fringe parking fees spark resident backlash
An expansion of paid parking around Tauranga's city centre amounts to a "tax on living in the CBD", a resident says. Liam Jackson will have to pay $10 a day to park outside his Park St home from August 4 after the council decided to expand paid parking to the city centre fringe. "Over $2000 a year just to park outside my house – that seems crazy." On-street parking between the eastern end of Fourth Ave and Park St, north of the CBD, will cost $1 an hour for the first two hours and $2 for every hour after until 5pm, to a maximum of $10 on weekdays. New two-hour parking limits would also apply to some CBD-fringe streets as far south as Eighth Ave. ADVERTISEMENT The streets are often used by people working in the city who park all day. Residents in Tauranga city fringe streets will have to pay to park outside their homes. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) Jackson, who works in the city, said his flat has one off-street parking spot that his flatmate needed, so he parked on the street. He said the parking changes seemed to work against the council's efforts to revitalise the city centre — which needed people to want to live there to succeed. "It seems like a tax on living in the CBD, which is counterproductive to what they're trying to do with revitalising the CBD." Councillors approved the parking costs and time limits at a Tauranga City Council meeting on July 14, having approved the Tauranga Parking Management Plan in April. After a split vote, councillors opted not to approve the staff recommendation of resident permits for those living in the city fringe. ADVERTISEMENT The permits would have given residents an exemption from fees. Staff proposed to allow residents to apply for up to two permits per dwelling with a two-year expiry. Mayor Mahé Drysdale said two permits for every property was "excessive" and would take out all the parking in the area. Te Papa ward councillor Rod Taylor said trialling resident permits would be worthwhile and staff could report back on how they were working. Te Papa ward councillor Rod Taylor. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) Jackson said he had lived in many cities in the United Kingdom, and all had an option for resident permits. He said he would be happy to pay for a permit if it was cheaper than on-street parking. ADVERTISEMENT Jackson wanted the council to pause the CBD fringe paid parking until it had sorted out resident permits. Grace Rd and Neighbourhood Residents' Association chairman Phil Green said the idea behind the time-limited parking in The Avenues was to prevent CBD workers parking all day, but they would just find somewhere else to go. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including the atmospheric river arrives, Epstein's girlfriend pushes for appeal, and Jennifer Lopez's wardrobe malfunction. (Source: Breakfast) He saw people park in the avenues, then use a scooter to get to the city centre so he expected the time limits would just push people further out. Further down around Sixteenth Ave, where Green lived, workers from businesses and the hospital were parking all day and filling up the streets. "The overflow is not just affecting the CBD and its fringes; there are other issues further out as well." The council needed to look at the whole problem of parking and why people weren't using buses or the CBD parking buildings, Green said. ADVERTISEMENT Grace Road and Neighbourhood Residents' Association chairman Phil Green. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) "It's got to be addressed as an overall view rather than just looking at each thing in isolation. "It seems to be a knee-jerk reaction; you fix one and then there's an ongoing effect and another ongoing effect." Council parking strategy manager Reece Wilkinson said the time-restricted parking would be monitored by a licence plate recognition car. If a vehicle remained in a P120 zone for longer than two hours, it may be subject to enforcement, he said. Fines for parking over the time limit start at $20, increasing incrementally and are capped at $97. Taylor said the council understood changes to parking could be challenging, especially when it meant a change of routine or a new cost. At the council meeting, after the councillors did not approve the resident permits, they asked staff to explore options for a parking zone permit, to ease the impact on affected residents and visitors, he said. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Tauranga CBD fringe parking fees spark resident backlash
New two-hour parking limits would also apply to some CBD-fringe streets as far south as Eighth Ave. The streets are often used by people working in the city who park all day. Jackson, who works in the city, said his flat has one off-street parking spot that his flatmate needed, so he parked on the street. He said the parking changes seemed to work against the council's efforts to revitalise the city centre - which needed people to want to live there to succeed. 'It seems like a tax on living in the CBD, which is counterproductive to what they're trying to do with revitalising the CBD.' Residents in Tauranga city fringe streets will have to pay to park outside their homes. Photo / File Councillors approved the parking costs and time limits at a Tauranga City Council meeting on July 14, having approved the Tauranga Parking Management Plan in April. After a split vote, councillors opted not to approve the staff recommendation of resident permits for those living in the city fringe. The permits would have given residents an exemption from fees. Staff proposed to allow residents to apply for up to two permits per dwelling with a two-year expiry. Mayor Mahé Drysdale said two permits for every property was 'excessive' and would take out all the parking in the area. Te Papa ward councillor Rod Taylor. Photo / David Hall Te Papa ward councillor Rod Taylor said trialling resident permits would be worthwhile and staff could report back on how they were working. Jackson said he had lived in many cities in the United Kingdom, and all had an option for resident permits. He said he would be happy to pay for a permit if it was cheaper than on-street parking. Jackson wanted the council to pause the CBD fringe paid parking until it had sorted out resident permits. Grace Rd and Neighbourhood Residents' Association chairman Phil Green said the idea behind the time-limited parking in The Avenues was to prevent CBD workers parking all day, but they would just find somewhere else to go. He saw people park in the avenues, then use a scooter to get to the city centre so he expected the time limits would just push people further out. Grace Road and Neighbourhood Residents' Association chairman Phil Green. Photo / George Novak Further down around Sixteenth Ave, where Green lived, workers from businesses and the hospital were parking all day and filling up the streets. 'The overflow is not just affecting the CBD and its fringes; there are other issues further out as well.' The council needed to look at the whole problem of parking and why people weren't using buses or the CBD parking buildings, Green said. 'It's got to be addressed as an overall view rather than just looking at each thing in isolation. 'It seems to be a knee-jerk reaction; you fix one and then there's an ongoing effect and another ongoing effect.' Council parking strategy manager Reece Wilkinson said the time-restricted parking would be monitored by a license plate recognition car. If a vehicle remained in a P120 zone for longer than two hours, it may be subject to enforcement, he said. Fines for parking over the time limit start at $20, increasing incrementally and are capped at $97. Taylor said the council understood changes to parking could be challenging, especially when it meant a change of routine or a new cost. At the council meeting, after the councillors did not approve the resident permits, they asked staff to explore options for a parking zone permit, to ease the impact on affected residents and visitors, he said. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale's call for council review backed by LGNZ
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale said councils weren't as efficient and effective as they could be. Photo: Brydie Thompson Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) has backed Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale's call for a review of councils. Drysdale's remit, supported by Tauranga City Council and aimed at increasing efficiency in local government and reducing ratepayer costs, was passed at the national local governance body's annual general meeting last week. The remit received 80 percent support from councils and was ranked the top priority out of the four successful remits. The local government minister also said he was open to exploring opportunities for efficiency . It comes after Drysdale called for "tough" amalgamation conversations between Bay of Plenty councils. He said the remit passing showed everyone was aware that change was happening in local government. "[We] want to be proactive around designing the system that will work for our people and work for us as local government." The remit called for a review of current functions and governance arrangements of councils. Councils weren't as efficient and effective as they could be, he said. The sector needed to look at what services should be delivered nationally, regionally, and locally, then design a system that would best deliver those services, Drysdale said. Having a national IT system for all councils and regional roading networks were some ideas the sector could discuss, he said. When talking about efficiency, people "jump to amalgamation", Drysdale said, but it was only one of the solutions. "It may not be the solution that comes out of it. We've got to keep a really open mind." He said he was not trying to "ram through amalgamation". "The intent of this is getting all the local authorities with LGNZ and central government working together to design a system that works for the country." New Zealand has 78 councils: 11 regional, 11 city, 50 district, and six unitary authorities (regional and city/district combined). Changes to how councils managed water through Local Water Done Well and Resource Management Act (RMA) reform meant the functions of councils were changing, so councils needed to change their form, Drysdale said. LGNZ was in the "perfect position" to co-ordinate the remit, but buy-in was needed from central government and the other councils, he said. Plenty of reviews had been done, but action was needed, Drysdale said. "Let's make sure we've done this thoroughly and we know what the best system is, but then we've actually got to implement it." Local Government Minister Simon Watts. Photo: Alex Burton Local Government Minister Simon Watts said opportunities for efficiency included working alongside the sector. The new legislation that would replace the RMA included provisions about the roles, responsibilities, and processes of local government, he said. This included proposals that differed from the status quo, Watts said. "I am keen to look at how the reorganisation process for local government can be made simpler and expect to receive advice on this." LGNZ chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said local government needed to be proactive and lead the changes required. "The current sector arrangements are a legacy, and do not always reflect how communities have expanded and how modern services are delivered. "With key government legislation changes now under way, it'll require an agile and well-planned response by the sector," she said in a statement. "It's also important we retain local decision-making in the work we do and the decisions we make, particularly when it comes to the delivery of infrastructure and services for the community." Local Government New Zealand chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene. Photo: Mark Tantrum The LGNZ national council would consider next steps on the remit in the coming months. After the October election, the organisation would engage with councils in a member-driven process, an LGNZ spokesperson said. Outgoing Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman Doug Leeder said councils needed to be prepared to question their structure and functions. "The structure of local government hasn't meaningfully changed since 1989. In that time, our communities, demographics, and challenges have changed dramatically," he said in a statement. "We need to be brave enough to question how we deliver services and what functions sit best at which level - national, regional, or local." The remit had the support of metro councils before it was presented to LGNZ. The metro councils would provide support and resources to work on the programme established, the remit said. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
‘Good outcome': Trial reopening for Tauranga street closed seven years
The Hairini St bus lane will reopen to vehicles outside of morning peak hour for a three-month trial from October. Photo: LDR / SUPPLIED A trial reopening of a Tauranga street closed for seven years has been labelled a "good outcome" for nearby residents feeling stuck "in a rat trap". Transport planners, however, are concerned it will create safety issues. The citybound Hairini St slip lane to Turret Rd and the Hairini Bridge will reopen, except from 6.30am to 9.30am weekdays, for a three-month trial from October. The road was closed in July 2018 when the Maungatapu Underpass opened, to avoid having three lanes merging into one at the notorious traffic bottleneck. It became a bus-only lane. This meant to leave Hairini, motorists had to backtrack to the State Highway 29 Hairini St intersection. Photo: The slip lane's closure was met with opposition from residents upset about a lack of consultation and communication about the changes. The decision to reopen the street was made at Tauranga City Council City Delivery Committee meeting on Tuesday. The council worked with local hapū Ngāi Te Ahi to develop options for the trial. Ngāi Te Ahi representative Irene Walker told Local Democracy Reporting Hairini Marae asked the council for the street to be reopened five years ago. The opening was a "good outcome" because it allowed people the freedom to move, she said. "Residents like the idea that they don't feel as though they're in a rat trap. There is another way out." Council staff recommended traffic calming measures for Hairini St, such as speed bumps, but the committee opted to do this only if required after the trial began because of the cost. Walker said she was not worried about there being no new safety measures because she didn't think they were needed. Hairini resident Graham Hopkins first asked the council to reopen the street in 2020. Hairini resident Graham Hopkins asked the council to reopen Hairini St in 2020. Photo: John Borren / LDR The trial was a chance to see if it would work, he said. "I'm not overly excited, but I am happy that they're at least going to give it a trial." Having to backtrack to get to Turret Rd added about 1km to a trip and getting on to the roundabout could be difficult, he said. Hopkins said he did not have concerns about safety because the slip lane was residents' main accessway prior to the street's closure. A pedestrian crossing on Hairini St would be a "good idea" for children walking to school, he said. At the meeting, Mayor Mahé Drysdale asked what the cost of the traffic calming measures would be. Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale. Photo: David Hall / LDR Council transport programme manager Brent Goodhue said the cost was $20,000 for the safety measures and $10,000 in traffic management while they were installed. More traffic, potentially driving faster down Hairini St, was expected when the road opened, he said. "We would end up with negative impacts to the local community if we didn't put those [safety measures] in at the same time." The trial would allow the council to assess safety, accessibility and monitor the impact it had on the wider road network, said Goodhue. It would also determine the viability of a long-term solution after construction of the proposed Turret Rd / 15th Ave upgrades. June council data showed an average of 27,671 vehicles used the Hairini Bridge/Turret Rd corridor each day. Director of transport Mike Seabourne said the estimated cost of the trial without traffic calming, staff costs and a contingency would be about $40,000, down from about $110,000. Drysdale did not want the council to spend more than it had to when there may not be a problem. If the trial created safety issues, then the council could act, he said. Councillor Rod Taylor said: "How many chances of safety do you get? The first thing that might happen is someone gets run over." Tauranga City councillor Rod Taylor. Photo: David Hall / LDR The staff had considered potential safety issues and the "risk is too high", he said. Welcome Bay ward councillor Hautapu Baker said he grew up in the neighbourhood and children from four schools used the area. "I would hate for us to respond to an accident rather than be proactive to prevent something." Councillor Glen Crowther said the road would be closed when children were going to school. Afternoon traffic would be heading out of the city and not using the citybound slip lane much. There were other areas in the city where children were more at risk, he said. The council consulted residents in the directly affected area and found 80% of 92 responses supported a trial reopening, with the rest opposed. Some 78 percent supported traffic calming on Hairini St, with most in favour of speedhumps. Councillors approved the trial reopening with a $40,000 budget. Traffic calming measures would be installed if required once the trial began. Once the trial was complete residents would be surveyed again, and staff would report the trial's results back to the council for a decision on the slip lane's future. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Scoop
22-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
TEL Off-ramp To Pāpāmoa East Opening Early
Tauranga City Council is pleased to be opening the off-ramp from the Tauranga Eastern Link (TEL) to Pāpāmoa East at the end of August, months ahead of schedule. The Council has worked with the project contractor, Minister for Transport Chris Bishop, the New Zealand Transport Agency and local MP Tom Rutherford to make this a reality. The Pāpāmoa East Interchange is key to improving network connectivity for existing residents and will also enable ongoing residential and commercial development. "The opening of the Pāpāmoa East Interchange off-ramp by the end of August, which is nine months ahead of plan, is a great outcome for our people and will help ease traffic issues," says Mayor Mahé Drysdale. Meanwhile, Councillor Steve Morris adds that the rest of the interchange will be open and ready to use in early-2026, which will have 'a significant impact on improving traffic flows and ease of accessing the TEL from Pāpāmoa East". 'Mayor Drysdale worked with Minister Bishop to facilitate the early opening and I approached Tom Rutherford to ask for his help,' Steve says, 'and between us all, we've managed to get a great result for the community." "By working together, we have achieved a good, pragmatic outcome for our community, and I thank everyone for saying yes and getting this done," says Mahé. The Council's Programme Director: Major Transport Projects, Chris Barton, says construction is progressing well, with costs also forecast to be within budget. More information is available on the Lets Talk Tauranga website: .
