Major parking changes for Ōamaru’s CBD

The cost of parking in Ōamaru’s central business district (CBD) will double at the same time the Waitaki District Council also halves the free-parking period.

The council, in adopting its 2023-2024 Annual Plan on Tuesday that will increase rates by an average 7.95%, decided to increase the hourly parking fee by $1 an hour to $2.

The change, that comes into effect on Saturday, also sees the free-parking period cut from two hours to one hour for the rest of winter before it disappears completely in October.

The new one hour of free parking limit per customer per day, to be policed by the council’s one parking warden, will be offered 10am-5.30pm Monday to Friday and 10am-1pm on Saturdays. Outside these hours there is no charge for parking.

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Other parking fee changes include Ōamaru off-street all-day-parking being capped at $8 per day and changes to parking permits, with annual permits increasing from $400 to $600, six month permits jumping from $220 to $330 and three month permits increasing from $120 to $180.

The council anticipates a further review of CBD parking will be completed by October.

“We’ve got parking machines that are wearing out, and a decision will need to be made on whether these are going to be replaced,” Waitaki mayor Gary Kircher said.

“Our parking review will need to balance the cost of the revenue raised by parking and the impact on shoppers and businesses in the CBD.

“We look forward to trying to make sure we have a system that works well for the public and for the business owners alike, that ensures that there’s a good turnover and accessibility of parking spots, and that the activity covers its own costs.”

Another key decision from Tuesday’s Annual Plan adoption was the increase in funding for the Waitaki Sports and Event Centre from $10 million to $15m, with $10m to be loan-funded over 20 years, and the remaining $5m funded from sources that do not have a rates impact.

The council also reconfirmed a $100,000 commitment to the Ōamaru Visitor Centre for 2023-24 to allow them to continue to deliver their information service to visitors to the region.