Resolving parking problems in the region have moved up a gear.
The short-, medium- and long-term actions for managing parking across the Hastings have now been confirmed, with Council’s adoption of the Parking Strategy and Parking Policy.
The two vital policy and planning documents are the result of almost 11 months of community consultation and technical evaluation to develop the framework for effective parking management in the Policy and the proposed actions in the short-, medium- and long-term outlined in the Strategy.
Director of Development and Environmental Services Matt Rogers believes that the significance placed on community participation in the Strategy development has resulted in a document that will remain relevant for many years.
“The risk with developing strategies and planning for long-term needs is that it can be too theoretical and not lead to any specific actions. This Parking Strategy and the overarching Parking Policy will not have that fate, as Council has invested so much time into working with the community over the last year. The documents adopted are clear, concise and directly linked to actions that the community helped devise,” said Mr Rogers.
Throughout the development of the Strategy, the issue of paid parking has created the most community interest, with the provision of significant parking infrastructure such as parking stations one of the biggest challenges faced by Council.
“The demand for this infrastructure is brought about by new developments, the funding for which is essentially provided by the private sector. Council does, however, have responsibility to provide parking for our growing population as well as ongoing operation and maintenance of public parking infrastructure.
“To ensure these services are adequately funded, Council will need to consider all options including the option for paid parking,” explained Mr Rogers.
