Howe Street, Hopetoun Street and Hereford Street, Freemans Bay – Paid parking restriction Howe Street, Hopetoun Street and Hereford Street, Freemans Bay – Paid parking restriction

Proposal status: Feedback closed 15 June 2022

Reference number: RTV-414

Proposal outcome

In June 2022, we proposed changes to introduce paid parking restrictions on Howe Street, Hopetoun Street and Hereford Street. These changes are in response to the need to improve parking availability in the area.

After reviewing all the feedback, we are proceeding with minor changes.

The proposed bus parking spaces will be available to buses 8 to 9.30am and 1.30 to 3.30pm. They will be paid parking at other times.
The proposed P10 parking spaces will be available 8.30 to 9.30am and 2 to 3.30pm. They will be paid parking at other times.

These changes are in response to feedback from Auckland Girls Grammar School, to provide space for their school buses and parking spaces for pick up and drops offs.

What happens next

We anticipate the changes will be implemented in November/December 2022.

Community feedback

Thank you for helping us make better decisions for your neighbourhood, informed by your local knowledge. We received a fair amount of feedback on this proposal.

The following is a summary of the comments and queries we received, and our responses to them.

Long term parking

Concern that there are no other available parking facilities for long term parking for residents.
We acknowledge that there are several unrestricted parking spaces on Howe Street and Hopetoun Street which are used as long-term parking spaces by residents. In areas of high parking demand, like in and around Freemans Bay, we want to improve parking availability and standardise parking so that it follows the same restrictions as nearby areas.

The amount of parking is limited by space on the road and there’s not enough space to accommodate a residential parking zone for the number of properties in the area, while retaining space for the short-term parking restrictions related to Auckland Girls Grammar School.

It’s difficult for us to identify alternative options for long term parking as individual circumstances differ. However, we do not advise a reliance on on-street parking as parking restrictions can change depending on the wider demands of the area. Unrestricted parking will still be possible outside the operational times of the new paid parking zone.
Concern that these parking restrictions will push people to park on other unrestricted streets like Mahon Way, Beresford Street and Hayden Street.
Mahon Way is a service lane and should not be used for parking. If it becomes an issue in the future, we’ll investigate this further.

Hayden Street, Beresford Street West and Beresford Street East are part of the Freemans Bay residential parking zone and have a P120 time restriction for people without parking permits. Our compliance team monitors this area regularly and vehicles overstaying may be issued an infringement notice. Part of Hayden Street is also private.
Request to extend the Residential Parking Zone to include Hopetoun and Hereford Street or provide some sort of allowance for resident parking in the proposed restricted parking areas.
Both Hopetoun and Hereford Street have a high number of residents in a small area, which creates an unsustainable demand for permits and reduces parking availability for everyone. Many of these developments have access to off street parking.
Request that the old Wilsons carpark under Hopetoun Bridge be turned into usable parking spaces.
We’re currently working with partners to do this. However, the timeframe is dependent on funding.
Request for the ability to purchase weekly or monthly parking rates.
Allowing people weekly or monthly parking rates would not encourage more parking availability. Parking rates are fixed, and parking is available on a first come first serve basis.

Allowing users to buy weekly or monthly parking rates sets an expectation that a parking spot would always be available for them, and this may not always be the case.
Request to restrict parking on Howe Street to residents only, and only one side, as it is narrow and dangerous to cycle up.
We do not provide resident only parking after it was discontinued after 2007 because on-street parking is a valuable and limited public resource. Reserving parking solely for a particular group or individual is not in the public interest.

Regarding Howe Street being narrow, we classify any road less than 7m wide as narrow. Howe Street is 12m wide and is capable of safely having parking on both sides. Removing parking from one side of the road would be an unnecessary loss of parking in an area with high parking demand.

Short term parking

Concern that this means there will be no free parking available for residents’ visitors, tradespeople, healthcare workers, or delivery people.
Residents and visitors who wish to stay for a short time can park in the Freemans Bay residential parking zone for up to 2 hours. You also get 10 minutes of free parking in paid parking areas, which will allow enough time for quick deliveries.
Request for a 10-to-15-minute leeway before the parking charge starts for pick-ups, drop-offs, and deliveries.
All paid parking spaces are free for the first 10 minutes. This allows for pick-ups, drop-offs, and quick deliveries.
Suggestion to put in loading zones.
We are happy to consider specific requests for loading zones. If you have a specific request, please contact us here.

Paid parking restriction time

Concern that these changes are unnecessary because the parking in the streets is fine as it is.
While the current unrestricted parking might suit a specific selection of people, it makes many parking spaces unavailable for anyone else. This proposal encourages shorter periods of parking, which improves availability, but still accommodates for longer stays if the correct fee is paid.

By introducing a paid parking zone, we will also reduce the sign clutter from the streets. The streets that are part of this project are surrounded by either paid parking or are part of the residential parking zone. By introducing paid parking, we are making the restrictions uniform within the area and making it less confusing for everyone.
Request that the parking restrictions only be in place 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and are unrestricted at all other times.
The proposed paid parking zone will have the same time restriction as the paid parking in surrounding streets. Having the same restrictions as nearby streets will make the rules easier to understand and follow for everyone.

Paid parking restriction cost

Concern that because the mall has free parking, the city should too, as this would encourage shoppers into the city rather than to the mall.
While it may appear that malls have free parking, the charge is usually indirect rather than direct at the space. On-street parking is valuable and limited by the space on the road, therefore it must be managed fairly to meet the needs of as many people as possible.

The current unrestricted parking means that there’s no parking turnover in the area, therefore people can use the street as though it is a private parking area. This creates issues for visitors to the area as they will have nowhere to park. The paid parking restrictions are necessary to ensure that there is parking turnover.
Concern that charging for parking is bad for local business.
We have implemented paid parking in multiple areas across Auckland and these restrictions have created parking availability and made it easy for visitors and customers of local businesses to find parking.

It’s difficult to measure the effect of parking management on business revenue, but we can improve parking availability for customers, which in turn means more customers can visit the business and spend money there. We also engaged with local businesses as part of this consultation and received support on our proposal, as it will provide more short-term parking spaces for their customers.
Concern that this proposal’s main aim is to generate revenue for Auckland Transport and the Council.
The main aim of this proposal is to manage the limited on-street parking in the area effectively. Removing the time restrictions and converting the area into a paid parking zone will also reduce the sign clutter and will bring the area in line with surrounding streets.
Concern that this is another cost for people (especially residents) who are already suffering under the rising cost of living.
Whilst we understand that this will be an additional cost for road users, there is a need to manage the parking effectively so that people looking for parking can find places to park.

Parking is very limited in this area and paid parking, along with the graduated tariff, will ensure that there is parking turnover in the area. At this stage parking will still be free after 6pm on Monday to Saturday and free all day on Sunday.

Requests and questions

Request for further parking restrictions, more cycleways, and making these streets more pedestrian-friendly.
This project focuses on creating parking turnover to manage parking effectively in this area. Your requests will be investigated, but we are unable to make these further changes as part of this project due to budget and time constraints.
Concern about the noise from drunk people returning to their cars.
We’re unfortunately unable to do anything about anti-social behaviour in this area. Please raise these concerns with the police.
Suggestion to include mobility parking and parking for car share services.
We regularly review the area and are always trying to provide a good mix of parking options to meet everyone’s needs. When providing new mobility parking spaces, we must carefully consider the demand and geography of the area. We’ll consider new mobility parking spaces where a specific demand can be identified.

We’re also working with two car share providers, Mevo and City Hop, and at this stage neither has requested access to this area. Going forward, we’re intending to use a zoned approach to car share services where cars can park anywhere within a home zone, rather than in specific restricted parking spots. This will make it easier for car share companies to operate in areas like this.
Request for the proposed parking restrictions to be cheaper.
We operate a policy of demand responsive pricing. We’ll monitor parking occupancy and adjust the cost in accordance with that policy. At this stage it makes sense to adopt the same tariff as the nearby paid parking zones.
More information about how our demand responsive pricing works can be found here.
Request to remove the paid parking spaces between 473 and 529 on Karangahape Road as they cause congestion and access issues.
Parking is already very limited in the area and removing further parking will put more pressure on the surrounding area. Any changes to Karangahape Road are outside the scope of this project.
Request to review Beresford Street carpark as landlords are leasing their carparks at extortionate prices.
We are currently considering options regarding the future of this carpark.
Question: Will the tariff be the same on Hereford Street as on Hopetoun Street?
The tariff on Hereford Street will be in line with the tariff on Karangahape Road. This is $3 per hour for the first 2 hours, then $6 per hour after the first 2 hours. This applies Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. On Saturday, 8am to 6pm, there is a $1.50 charge per hour for the first 2 hours, then $3 per hour after the first 2 hours.

Miscellaneous

Concern that the quality of public transport on offer is poor, therefore people must be able to drive and park.
We are constantly working toward improving public transport and making these journeys easier and cheaper for our users.
Concern that moving the bus stops on Howe Street are unnecessary.
We’re not removing the bus stops as part of this proposal. We’re just bringing some of them up to standard. This proposal will have no impact on the location of bus stops.
Concern that all parking in the city is going to be turned into paid parking.
Paid parking is the most effective tool to manage parking demand in the city and surrounding suburbs where parking is in high demand. Paid parking provides options for both short-term and long-term parking.

The cheaper tariff for stays under 2 hours mean that short term parking is prioritised, therefore, parking turnover is increased, giving more people the opportunity to park. However, unlike time restricted parking, people also have the option to park for a longer if they need to.
Concern that this has only been proposed because of the unpopular changes on Karangahape Road.
These changes are not proposed because of the changes that have been implemented on Karangahape Road. These changes are proposed to bring the area in line with surrounding streets and to manage the parking demand effectively by creating more parking availability.
Concern about the inability to influence decisions through consultations.
We take the opinions of people we’ve consulted with seriously. However, we must find ways to maximise the use of limited on-street parking we have in the city, and it’s often difficult to meet the expectations of individuals or certain groups, such as those seeking long term unrestricted parking. We look to make changes where they do not compromise the objective of the proposal.

We're proposing improvements in your area

As part of our work to keep Aucklanders moving, we are proposing to introduce paid parking restrictions on sections of Howe Street, Hopetoun Street and Hereford Street.

We are proposing to:

Replace the existing P120 At Other Time restriction with a paid parking restriction on Howe Street. The tariff will be $3 per hour for the first 2 hours and $6 per hour after that.
Introduce a P10 parking restriction on highlighted areas of Howe Street, this will be applicable from 8.30am to 9.30am and 2.30pm to 3.30pm Monday to Friday.
Introduce a bus parking restriction on highlighted areas of Howe Street, this will be applicable from 8.30am to 9.30am and 2.30pm to 3.30pm Monday to Friday. All other times it will be paid parking.
Introduce a paid parking restriction from property 8 to 19 Hopetoun Street. The tariff will be $1 per hour for the first 2 hours and $4 per hour after that.
Introduce a paid parking restriction from property 7 to 15 Hereford Street and introduce a P180 Mobility Parking restriction at 531 Hereford Street.

Download the proposal drawing (PDF 500KB).

How this will benefit your neighbourhood

Auckland Transport would like to work with you to improve parking in your neighbourhood. These changes will increase the availability of parking spaces on Howe Steet, Hopetoun Street and Hereford Street.

One side of Howe Street is currently paid parking only, and the other side is part of the Residential Parking Zone. In the middle there are various parking restrictions, so in order to simplify restrictions and reduce sign clutter we are proposing to make the paid parking restriction clear across Howe Street. The existing bus stops, bus parking spaces and P10 spaces will remain the same.

Hopetoun Street and Hereford Street are currently unrestricted and are used by all day parkers. In order to manage parking demand and increase the availability of parking for everyone we are proposing to introduce paid parking restrictions on these streets. These changes will also increase the availability of parking for people visiting Karangahape Road, as there has been a significant loss of parking on Karangahape Road as a result of recent developments.

Give feedback

If you would like to post in your feedback, download and print our feedback form template, fill in your details and send it freepost using the address details on the form.

What happens next

We’ll consider all the feedback we receive, and then decide the best way to move forward.
We’ll post the outcome of this proposal and a summary of community feedback on this webpage.
We can email you the proposal outcome as soon as it’s ready – just select that option when you fill in the survey.

Central Auckland: Safe with us

Auckland Transport cares for your safety. We want to make our roads safe for everyone, people walking and cycling, especially for our kids and senior citizens and people driving. Projects like this one around Freemans Bay are another step towards our goal of achieving no deaths or serious injuries on our roads. We are guided by the Vision Zero approach to transport safety, which prioritises human safety over other measures (like minor time saving).