Parking changes proposed for town centre

Auckland Transport (AT), in partnership with the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board and Destination Ōrewa Beach, is proposing changes to parking in Ōrewa Town Centre.

According to AT, the centre is busy for much of the day, with the most convenient spaces frequently full, as some vehicles occupy them well beyond the posted limits. The proposal aims to improve turnover so spaces are easier to find.

AT is inviting the community to choose between two options. While most parking would remain free with time limits in place, the key change is that a small number of spaces in the busiest part of the centre would become paid at $1 an hour, 8am to 6pm, seven days a week.

The two options

Option A distributes the paid spaces across several streets in the town centre. Around 75 parking spaces would become paid parking

Option B nearly all paid parking by Ōrewa Square. Around 58 parking spaces would become paid parking.

Under both options, the majority of the town centre retains free parking.

Several features are designed to ease the transition. The first 10 minutes in any paid space are free, allowing for a quick coffee, pie or pick-up at no cost. On Moana Avenue, near Centreway Road, 16 spaces would become entirely free all day with no time limit, useful for longer stays.

In the McDonald’s car park (off Florence Avenue), 14 existing P90 spaces would be included in the town centre zone. These spaces would become either free with P120 time limits or paid parking, depending on the option selected.

AT says the proposal is less a removal of free parking than a reshuffle: a few central spaces become paid, while some nearby spaces become more freely available than they are now.

However, the paid parking is designed to work with the AT Park smartphone app, which lets drivers pay only for the time they use – convenient for those comfortable with a smartphone.

For many older residents, this may present a hurdle. Not everyone owns a smartphone, or wants to download an app, set it up and navigate it on the footpath. Without the app, the “pay only for what you use” benefit is harder to access, and the process can feel more complicated than using a meter.

More https://haveyoursay.at.govt.nz/orewa-parking-proposal Engagement is open until July 23.