Melanie Webber has lived on Greys Avenue, Auckland city, for over twenty years. Auckland Transport’s plan to charge for street parking at night and on weekends will impact carers when she is recovering from upcoming surgery. Photo: Stuff / Lawrence Smith
Inner city Auckland resident Melanie Webber is upset that Auckland Transport is introducing overnight and weekend parking charges to city streets in July.
The Greys Avenue resident is living with stage four cancer and said the new costs will make it harder for friends and caregivers to visit in evenings and on weekends.
Webber is booked in for surgery, and the changes mean if she wants someone to stay overnight while she recovers, they will have to pay to park on the street outside her apartment.
"I know there are going to be times coming up when I am going to want to have a caregiver in the house and having to pay $28 [for overnight parking] for that just isn't feasible," Webber said.
"I simply won't be able to afford to pay for that for other people, and I feel really bad asking friends to be paying that money to be able to come and spend time with me."
And due to her health, now was not a time for her to be moving, she said.
When she moved into the city centre 20 years ago, Webber deliberately chose to live on a street where parking was available for visitors.
The Civic carpark was down the road, but it was not open all night.
Most of Greys Avenue was zoned residential, she said, with apartments, townhouses and Kāinga Ora's urban village, Te Matawai, up the road.
"I'm someone who believes really strongly in the inner city, and the ability for people to be able to live here as they get old. And as you get older, you want people to be able to visit you."
Webber was concerned by the lack of consultation with residents, as well as the impact the charges will have on restaurant workers.
"I can appreciate an attempt to prevent people from parking overnight for free - I've lived here long enough to see the impact from apartment developments being discouraged from providing parking - but this is not the answer."
Greys Avenue is a residential zone with apartments and townhouses in the inner city. Photo: Stuff / Lawrence Smith
AT won't be looking into parking permits for city residents, the agency's group manager of parking services, John Strawbridge, said.
City centre residents have been able to use public road space as free overnight storage for private vehicles, he said.
"This is something AT can no longer afford to provide when there are other areas of the transport network that need investment."
The transport agency has taken an "inform" approach, rather than consultation, on the basis that the change is to existing paid parking areas, not to kerb space utilisation, Strawbridge said.
A change to kerb space use would be covered by AT's Room to Move parking strategy, he said.
According to Auckland Transport, there are more than 23,600 parking spaces in Auckland city. Photo: Stuff / Lawrence Smith
According to AT, there are about 40,000 residents in Auckland city centre, and at least 23,600 parking spaces.
There are 2400 on-street parking spaces, 4200 parking spaces in AT parking buildings, 17,000 off-street paid parking spaces from private providers, as well as private parking spaces in office and apartment buildings.
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown directed AT to "make savings and increase revenue including from increasing parking fines and charges where allowed" in his December 2023 Letter of Expectation to the transport agency.
Brown has not been available to speak to Stuff on this issue.
- This story was first published by Stuff.