Mission Bay – Parking changes Mission Bay – Parking changes

Proposal status: closed 30 July 2018

Reference number: RTV-168

We're proposing changes in your area

We are proposing to change parking around the Mission Bay town centre to P120 time restriction, Monday to Sunday 8am – 9pm, including public holidays. Tamaki Drive, Atkin Avenue and Patteson Avenue currently have P10, P30, P60 and P180 parking.

We also propose new P120 parking restrictions on the north, even numbered, side of Marau Crescent. The proposal retains existing parking restrictions around bus stops, loading zones, mobility parks but provides a consistent P120 approach in Mission Bay.

We also plan to formalise the temporary 2am to 5am no stopping restrictions, Friday to Sunday, on Tamaki Drive.

A drop-in session was held for this proposal to provide more information to the public:

  • Wednesday 11 July, 3pm to 7pm - Movenpick, 75 Tamaki Drive, Mission Bay
  • Wednesday 25 July, 3pm to 6pm - Movenpick, 75 Tamaki Drive, Mission Bay

Download the proposal drawing for Mission Bay (PDF 128KB) 

Why the changes are needed

We aim to improve parking availability in the area, encourage higher turnover, and provide more parking options for the wider community.

Proposal outcome

This project received mixed feedback and will proceed with minor changes to the next stage of detailed planning. A summary of the community feedback we received and answers to questions and concerns is below.

As a result of feedback, we have refined the proposal so that the proposed P120 parking restrictions along the northern side of Marau Crescent will only apply Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Outside of those hours, this parking will not be time restricted.

Feedback received

No stopping restrictions – Tamaki Drive

  • Request to extend the hours of the proposed no stopping controls along Tamaki Drive. We have liaised with the NZ Police to determine the best times to implement the no stopping restrictions. Based upon our discussions, we believe that 2am to 5am as proposed will be appropriate.
  • Query regarding the number of parking spaces that will be impacted by the proposed no stopping controls between 2am and 5am. This proposal will only formalise the no stopping restrictions that already exist at this location.
  • Request for Auckland Council to go further to address disorderly behaviour at this location. Auckland Council and Auckland Transport are working with NZ Police to address existing issues. Should you observe disorderly behaviour at this location that requires addressing, we encourage you to report it to the Police.

Enforcement

  • Request to bolster enforcement of the proposed no stopping restrictions on Tamaki Drive. The NZ Police will monitor this area to enforce the overnight no stopping restrictions once implemented.
  • Query into whether parking is regularly enforced during summer events. Our events team organises parking compliance for any large events, as part of their Traffic Management Plan.

Impact on residents

  • Concerns that the proposed restrictions along Marau Crescent will negatively impact residents at this location, many of whom have limited off-street parking. This proposal aims to improve parking availability for residents and their visitors by discouraging all-day parking by commuters. Due to the street’s proximity to the town centre, this proposal will only introduce time restrictions along the northern edge of Marau Crescent in order to sufficiently balance the parking needs of residents, businesses, and the wider community.
  • Concerns that the proposed restrictions along Marau Crescent will unnecessarily limit the amount of time visitors of local residents can park. The restrictions will ensure higher parking turnover, allowing for improved parking availability along Marau Crescent for short-term parking and for visitors to the area. The proposal has now been refined and the P120 parking restrictions along the northern side of the road will only apply Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
  • Concern that residents will no longer be able to park their vehicles on Marau Crescent overnight. The parking restrictions will be installed on one side of the road only. Residents will still be able to park outside their properties when the restriction period ends after 6pm. Alternatively, residents will still be able to park their vehicles all day in the unrestricted sections of the street.
  • Concerns that introducing time restrictions along Marau Crescent will worsen parking issues on adjacent streets. We appreciate there can be flow on effects when restrictions are implemented. We will continue to monitor the area following implementation of the proposed changes.

Residential Parking Zone

  • Request to introduce a residential permit parking zone at this location Under the Auckland Transport Parking Strategy, Residential Parking Zones (RPZ) are best suited for suburbs located within the city fringe where there are a high number of heritage properties without off-street parking. As the majority of properties in Mission Bay have off-street parking, we are unable to consider introducing a Residential Parking Zone.
  • Request to allow residents unrestricted parking along Tamaki Drive and visitor permits for their guests and request to allow for overnight resident parking on Tamaki Drive from Friday to Sunday. Tamaki Drive is classified as an arterial road whose main function is to carry public transport, goods, services and general traffic. Parking is considered a low priority activity on these types of roads in favour of improving traffic flows and increasing public transport frequency. The two carparks at either end of the town centre, on the beach side of Tamaki Drive will continue to offer P180 parking. Parking on nearby streets will be available overnight for residents after 6pm.

Alternative parking time restrictions

  • Request for the parking restrictions along Marau Crescent to end at 6pm rather than 7pm. Based on feedback, we have adjusted the proposal. The proposed time restrictions will apply to the north side of Marau Crescent from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
  • Request to retain P180 parking restrictions where they are currently in place and to apply these restrictions to Marau Crescent. Our observations suggest that the introduction of parking time restrictions over P120 tend to have limited success in terms of operation and compliance. People frequently will move their vehicle to another parking space nearby or rub the chalk mark off their tire, limiting parking availability for other visitors. Introducing P120 further discourages drivers from this type of behaviour, allowing for increased circulation of parked vehicles.
  • Concern that the time restrictions will severely limit the amount of time visitors to Mission Bay will be able to remain parked, including those visiting the beach and customers of local businesses. In many cases where P10, P30, and P60 parking currently is in place, the proposed P120 parking restrictions will actually allow for longer periods of parking than the current situation. The two carparks at either end of the town centre, on the beach side of Tamaki Drive will continue to offer P180 parking.
  • Request to only introduce the P120 restrictions along Atkin Avenue and Patterson Avenue. We are proposing parking restrictions on streets in the area where average parking occupancy is over 85% in an effort to deter commuter parking. Implementation of parking restrictions will allow a higher parking turnover, and ensure that the varied needs of the wider community are met.
  • Requests to retain existing P10 and P60 parking restrictions on Patteson Avenue in order to better accommodate short-term parking and Suggestion to maintain a range of parking restrictions in order to accommodate differing parking needs. By introducing P120 throughout the Mission Bay area, we will simplify the parking situation in order to reduce confusion. P120 parking will make better use of the existing spaces and will still allow shorter periods of parking. We will continue to monitor the area and assess use of the spaces in the coming months after implementation.
  • Query as to why parking restrictions along Tamaki Drive also apply to weekends. In busy commercial areas like Mission Bay, parking restrictions are applied Monday to Sunday, as there is a high demand for parking 7 days a week.
  • Suggestion that short-term parking spaces on the northern edge of Tamaki Drive are important to allow easy drop offs at the beach. By introducing P120 throughout the Mission Bay area, we will simplify the parking situation in order to reduce confusion. P120 parking will make better use of the existing spaces and will still allow shorter periods of parking. We will continue to monitor the area and assess use of the spaces in the coming months after implementation.
  • Request to instead introduce P240 parking restrictions across the proposal area. The decision to make the entire zone P120 was to simplify and cause less confusion in the area. P120 will allow a higher turnover of vehicles visiting and make better use of parking in the area. The two carparks at either end of the town centre, on the beach side of Tamaki Drive still offer P180 parking if longer periods of parking are required.
  • Request that public parking in Mission Bay, Kohimarama, and St Helier's Bay be free for visitors. All on-street parking provided by Auckland Transport is free at these locations. There are two paid car parks in Patteson Avenue, both of which are privately owned.

Additional requests

  • Suggestion to introduce a car park on underutilised land at the intersection of Marau Crescent and Atkin Avenue. As town centres grow and intensification occurs, land often becomes more expensive and so does the cost of providing additional parking facilities. In all cases, the benefits of increasing the public parking supply need to be weighed against the considerable consenting, capital and operational costs that new parking facilities would incur. Increasing the parking capacity can sometimes result in the need for major engineering works on roads leading into the town centre and traffic calming measures inside the town centres. As such, we are currently unable to consider this request.
  • Suggestion to add additional on-street parking on Atkin Avenue. In all cases, the benefits of increasing the existing public parking supply need to be weighed against the considerable consenting, capital and operational costs that new parking facilities would incur.
    Our focus is on promoting public transport as an alternative to driving to work. In some areas we can provide all day parking, however we can never hope to meet all parking needs with the limited on-street supply.
  • Request to install broken yellow lines along one side of Marau Crescent in order to allow sufficient space for through traffic. While parked vehicles may narrow Marau Crescent, it is considered wide enough for vehicles to safely pass. Parked vehicles discourage drivers from speeding as cars parked on the side of the road give drivers the impression of a narrow road, encouraging greater care when driving.
  • Request to convert Marau Crescent to a one-way street to improve traffic flow. Marau Crescent has been observed to operate efficiently during our site inspections and our crash records suggest that Marau Crescent is operating relatively safely. Therefore due to the safe and efficient operation of Marau Crescent, the change to a one way system is not justified.
  • Request to add road markings on angled parking spaces along Marau Crescent in order to differentiate between different spaces. At this stage, we do not recommend marking out angled parking spaces as doing so may limit the number of spaces available in some of the indented parking bays.

Miscellaneous concerns

  • Concern that cars frequently park in a manner that obstructs driveway access for residents. Drivers must not stop or park their vehicle in a way that obstructs driveways. If vehicles are parked within 1 metre of your driveway, we encourage you to contact our enforcement team on 09 355 3553.
  • Concern that the proposal will encourage drivers to park on the footpaths along Marau Crescent. We appreciate that there can be flow on effects when restrictions are implemented. We will monitor the area following any changes, to ensure parking compliance. Parking on the footpaths is prohibited and therefore enforceable. Should you observe this behaviour, we encourage you to report this to AT Enforcement by calling 09 355 3553.

Next steps

This work is expected to be introduced before January 2019, but we will let you know if there are further changes or delays.

Our contractors will send notices to affected residents 48-hours prior to construction starting.