The White Horse Hill carpark in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Photo: SUPPLIED / DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
The Department of Conservation (DOC) says there are no quick fixes to high visitor numbers, after concerns raised about car parking fees pushing people to opt for the roadside.
The fees are being trialled from this week until next June at three major sites: Aoraki/Mt Cook, Punakaiki/Pancake Rocks, and Franz Josef/Wairau.
The scheme aims to help DOC pay for upkeep but groups including police, NZTA, Heritage NZ, and the NZ Alpine Club raised concerns in August about the fees prompting people to park offroad, or on the roadside including on state highways, to avoid the charges.
In a statement, DOC confirmed it was aware of those concerns.
"Paid parking is being piloted at these sites for seven months before a decision is made whether to continue paid parking, and at which sites. Monitoring any impacts will help inform this decision," the department said.
"There are no quick fixes for the issues that come with high numbers of visitors to some of our iconic places. DOC is committed to developing a visitor network focused on maintaining and improving great nature experiences. Paid parking will help fund this work."
The spokesperson said the White Horse Hill carpark in Aoraki/Mt Cook had been overfilling for years, long before paid parking was introduced.
"Sometimes there are hundreds of cars parked along the roadside. DOC has been aware of this problem for some time. Now that the paid parking pilot has started, temporary traffic management plans will be implemented on Hooker Valley Road, Tasman Valley Road and the state highway to manage road safety and access over the summer.
"It is acknowledged that paid carparking will not resolve capacity issues in the short term and DOC is investigating longer-term solutions to address capacity issues."
They said parking at Punakaiki was restricted or allocated for specific vehicles on the state highway along the front of the commercial precinct and along the opposite side of the road.
"Early indications are that visitors are doing the right thing, however there is a chance that paid parking may influence driver behaviour and some vehicles may park in restricted areas on the state highway.
"If driver behaviour creates safety issues, DOC will work with NZTA on mitigation strategies. DOC plans to expand an existing carpark at Punakaiki to increase parking capacity; this will reduce the risk of vehicles possibly parking unsafely on the state highway."
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