The current one-hour parking restrictions applying to some Whakatāne CBD streets and parking areas, excluding The Strand and the northern end of Boon Street, are set to be extended to two hours.

Some 128 parking places in Richardson Street, the northern end of Commerce Street and the car park to the west of the Civic Centre will be affected, with the change from a one-hour to a two-hour limit likely to be implemented before Christmas, subject to formal Council approval and public notification. A further 66 all-day car parks (mainly parallel parking spaces) on Pyne Street will also have a two-hour limit introduced, recognising the additional all-day parking now available in the Pyne Street/O’Rourke Place parking area.

The changes build upon a series of CBD improvement projects and follow consultation with the Eastern Bay Chamber of Commerce about ways to optimise community use of retail areas. In addition to the changes in parking restrictions, a ‘60-minute Parking Zone’ will also be introduced for The Strand and the adjoining areas where 60-minute restrictions remain. This will see high profile signage installed at entry points to the parking zone and on-street signage minimised, reducing the number of footpath obstructions for pedestrians and ‘decluttering’ the CBD ‘cityscape’.

Whakatāne District Council Infrastructure General Manager, Tomasz Krawczyk, says the CBD changes aim to make it easier for people to use and stay longer in the retail area, while maintaining an effective parking space turnover on The Strand and connecting retail streets.

“Consideration was also given to the possibility of increasing the parking restriction on The Strand from 60 to 90 minutes, but this was not pursued because the reduction in monitoring services would have had a significant impact on turnover and the availability of parking spaces in the key retail area,” he says.

Other parking restriction recommendations adopted by the Council’s Policy Committee last week included:

• The introduction of a 180-minute restriction on parking spaces on Stewart Street, adjacent to Whakatāne Hospital
• The introduction of a 180-minute restriction on parking spaces on Francis Street, adjacent to Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi
• The relocation of the bus stop on The Strand East further to the east
• The formalisation of a temporary bus stop in front of the Whakatāne Intermediate School
• The introduction of loading zones on Commerce Street, adjacent to the Global Thai restaurant, and on the eastern side of the Shapley Place service lane

Once adopted by the full Council, the changes will be included in the District Register of Parking Restrictions, Prohibitions and Limitations Schedule of Amendments, which will be available for inspection on the Council website.