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Wallace Road Carpark, Papatoetoe – Parking Restrictions Wallace Road Carpark, Papatoetoe – Parking Restrictions

Proposal outcome 

In June 2023, we sought feedback on changes to the car parking area on Wallace Road, Papatoetoe. We received several inquiries from customers and businesses, including the local supermarket, regarding customers’ difficulty finding parking within the carpark.

Some drivers were parking all day, denying others parking opportunities to conduct business in and around the Town Centre. And with development construction, the available parking spaces have dramatically reduced, and we must address this change in the remaining carpark area.

The proposal aimed to balance customer parking turnover, future-proof parking, and avoid misuse and long-term parking with multiple upcoming residential developments in the area.

Our proposal

  • Install new P5, P90 and P120 Mon-Sun 8am-6pm
  • Proposed parking P180 at all times for mobility parking spaces
  • Paint new yellow broken lines (no stopping at all times) to stop drivers parking incorrectly and blocking visibility and access

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

We are not proceeding with the proposed P120 restriction.

What happens next?

We plan to implement these changes in early 2024.

Community Feedback

We received feedback from businesses, employees and residents.  We also discussed this with the Old Papatoetoe Business Association and made amendments based on their feedback.

Thank you for helping us make better decisions for your neighbourhood, informed by your local knowledge.

Parking availability/turnover

Like any other resource, parking must be carefully managed to maximise its value, uses, and availability to different users while minimising and mitigating its negative implications and outcomes. This is also mentioned in our parking strategy. Time restrictions will encourage parking turnover and alternative modes of travel.  

Concern that local business workers would struggle to find parking nearby and would have to park in different areas

We understand the car park was used by people working there, particularly before development construction started. We must balance the needs of customer parking and parking all day. There remain some limited unrestricted time parking spaces, but these spaces will be on a first-in-first basis.

This car park is also close to other car parks, a train station, and bus routes, which may provide suitable travel alternatives.

Concern that the upcoming developments in the area will leave workers with no parking options if time restrictions are implemented.

We must balance the needs of customer parking and parking all day. There remain some limited unrestricted time parking spaces, but these spaces will be on a first-in-first basis.

This car park is also close to other carparks, a train station, and bus routes, which may provide suitable travel alternatives.

Concern that the older people in the area who regularly use this carpark will be adversely affected

Parking is still available for everyone.  

There are 7 mobility parking spaces P180 (3 hours). Mobility card users are also entitled to double the parking time when they display their mobility card. For example, a regular parking space provides 60 minutes of parking. In that case, a mobility card user is entitled to 120 minutes of parking when they display their mobility card.

Suggestions

AT should provide all-day parking spaces and allocate permits to the businesses in the town centre, so staff can access the car park safely.

The focus of this proposal is to improve parking turnover. We are not considering allocating business permits as it encourages all-day staff parking, leaving limited parking options for customers, including older people.

This contradicts our proposal to improve parking turnover.

Suggestion to provide longer parking hours as doctor’s appointments can sometimes take up to 3-4 hours.

We understand that a doctor’s appointment can sometimes take over 2 hours (120 minutes). However, we cannot only provide a long-term parking option for medical clinics and their patients.  

Request

Request to reconsider the proposal as the car park is never 100% full. There is not a lot going on in the town centre that gets people shopping or lingering around, causing a problem with parking. Moreover, retailers on St George Street have their car parking behind their shops.

We have observed this car park on several occasions with an occupancy of over 85%. At this level, we start looking into ways to improve turnover.

This carpark is close to other carparks, a train station and several bus routes which may provide suitable travel alternatives.

Misuse of mobility parking

Concern that some drivers are abusing the mobility parking spaces by not displaying the correct parking permit. 

We have enforcement arrangements to minimise the misuse of mobility parking spaces.

Health and Safety 

Concern that the staff could be attacked/robbed while commuting to/from their car during dark hours of early morning and late evening.

The proposed restrictions start at 8:00 am and end at 6:00 pm. Outside these hours, staff can park without any time limitations. Please bring any pressing concerns regarding safety with your employer.

Concern that the local workforce’s well-being and productivity could be affected by the proposed changes due to the lack of adequate parking spaces as it forces the workers to spend valuable time searching for suitable parking or park in remote areas that may pose safety risks.

We are trying to future-proof parking from the upcoming developments in the area while balancing the needs of everyone who will access this carpark. We are also encouraging sustainable travel alternatives like the train and bus. Please bring up any pressing concerns regarding productivity and well-being with your employer.