The influx of boaties caused a constant traffic jam and congestion in the water Photo: Supplied
Marlborough's council has moved to allow extra parking space for boaties trying to launch out of Picton, but some councillors have questioned whether it will even be enough.
The shortage of parking caused havoc over the last Christmas and New Year period, resulting in police, Port Marlborough and the Marlborough District Council having to respond to the issue.
The influx of boaties caused a constant traffic jam and congestion in the water as people had to tie their boats up while someone went to find a park. Others were also parking over residential driveways.
Part of the problem was caused after the Victoria Domain Reserves Management Plan, adopted in June 2021, prohibited vehicles on grassed open spaces, unless otherwise agreed for things such as maintenance activities or events.
This, therefore, reduced the amount of parking available because boaties could not park on Memorial Park in Picton, beside the marina.
It meant the council agreed to go back to the drawing board and revisit the plan a year after it was adopted with a proposal to allow more space, and reopen Memorial Park for parking during peak periods.
A shortage of parking in Picton over the Christmas/New Year period forced the council to go back to the drawing board for its reserve plan. Photo: Supplied
A hearing committee, made up of Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor, who was deputy mayor at the time, and former councillors Cynthia Brooks and Michael Fitzpatrick, reconvened to hear submissions on the management plan in September.
A report prepared for council's assets and services committee last week said 40 people submitted on the proposed change, with six speaking to them at the hearings. No one was against the proposed changes.
The report said following on from the hearing, the panel also proposed a helicopter landing site should be "secured". Bollards would be placed around a designated area to allow this.
Space would be available on the eastern side of Memorial Park to ensure walking and biking access is not obstructed, and the northern side would be available for recreational users. The council's park booking system would be used to help administer the process.
Council's property and community facilities manager Jamie Lyall told councillors at the meeting last week the increased area was trialled over Easter which "worked well".
"We got a lot of compliments from the community," he said.
Marlborough Sounds ward councillor Ben Minehan said he managed to get the last park in Picton at Christmas.
"I've never seen Picton Marina so full," Minehan said. "I'm a little concerned that it's not going to go far enough."
Likewise, Marlborough Sounds ward councillor Barbara Faulls said while the move was positive, she was concerned they still did not have enough parking set aside for the Christmas period.
Lyall said the hearings panel questioned Port Marlborough "at length" on this.
He said their response was they were "reasonably comfortable" they could cater up to 97 percent of demand for parking.
"What they need to do is work in tandem with Waikawa Marina," he said.
He said there was also a lot of work being put in to consider how long people were queueing as they waited to enter and leave the water.
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