Grafton parking changes Grafton parking changes
AT proposes introducing paid parking and a residential parking zone in Grafton to address overcrowded parking in the area.
Consultation status: Complete
Review results
In October 2022, we surveyed and sought feedback on the Grafton Residential Paid Parking Zone to review and understand the benefits of the residential paid parking zone and its impact on different users. Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to our survey.
We received feedback from 60 submitters. For a summary of all the feedback, download the Community Feedback Report (PDF 882KB).
How strongly do you agree that the parking zone has contributed to improving the overall parking availability?
Approximately 54% of submissions agreed or strongly agreed that the parking zone has contributed to improving the overall parking availability in the area.
Approximately 46% of submissions disagreed or strongly disagreed that the parking zone has contributed to improving the overall parking availability in the area.
In what way has the zone had an impact on parking availability for the following groups: residents, visitors, and customers?
The top themes for each group were:
Residents: Changes have improved parking availability for residents.
Visitors: Changes have improved parking availability for visitors.
Customers: Changes have had a positive impact on customers parking availability.
The four main themes from the respondents who strongly disagreed with the parking zone contributing to an improved parking situation are:
- It is still difficult to find parking/lack of availability.
- There is a lack of parking enforcement.
- Residents shouldn’t have to pay.
- Paid parking should have time limits.
Our responses to the key themes are below.
Difficult to find parking/lack of parking availability
We appreciate that it can be difficult to find parking spaces in peak periods. Parking occupancy (how many parking spaces are being used at one time) before the zone was implemented was at 88% and went down to 77% in 2022. This means that overall parking availability has improved. However, from the feedback and other observations, we know some side streets do reach peak occupancy of above 90%. In our next review we could look to apply a multi zone approach, which is where different streets have differently priced parking depending on occupancy levels. This means that streets with over 85% occupancy could be priced higher.
Lack of parking enforcement
We’ve shared this feedback with the parking enforcement team and aim to improve enforcement in the future by using Licence Plate Recognition vehicles that would patrol the area. These are vehicles with cameras mounted on top that capture licence plate details.
Residents shouldn’t have to pay
We understand this concern so the permit only costs as much as the zone’s administration cost. Some residents are not eligible to apply for a permit as they live in an intensified dwelling which has been excluded from the zone boundary. This was done to ensure the sustainability of the zone and to reduce the pressure on the supply of parking that these intensified dwellings can have.
Paid parking should have time limits
Paid parking with no time limit offers more flexibility for visitors, improving the visitor experience. We are considering alternative ways to improve parking availability that will still provide visitors with flexibility.
We’ve investigated and evaluated several factors to contribute to the review of the Grafton Residential Paid Parking zone. These include an occupancy survey, vehicle registration plate analysis, infringement analysis over the 3 last years, and customer requests for the last 2 years.
From the review and other investigations, we’re considering the following next steps:
- Conducting another parking review in 2024-2025 which investigates a price change. A price change was not done as part of this review as the average peak occupancy for the whole zone was below 85%. However, some side streets were found to be highly occupied, and some people’s feedback identified that it is still difficult to find a park. With the next review, we could look to apply a multi zone approach, which is where different streets have differently priced parking depending on occupancy levels. This means that streets with over 85% occupancy would be higher priced to promote parking turnover.
- Addressing parking on the grass berm, highlighted in the customer requests.
- Improving compliance/enforcement activity. This is based on information from the Grafton RPPZ review and detailed analysis of the enforcement data for the last 3 years. We will look to enforce the zone with Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) once the number of LPR equipped vehicles has increased.
Download the full price and benefit review (897KB)
Have your say on the effectiveness of this parking zone
We are currently assessing the effectiveness of this parking zone and would like to hear from you. We need your help to determine whether the parking zone is achieving its objectives:
- To improve parking availability for residents
- To improve parking availability for visitors and customers in the area.
To help this assessment, we would like to encourage you to provide feedback.
Proposed paid parking
We propose introducing paid parking that would operate between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.
Some of the streets would form a residential parking zone (RPZ). Residents of eligible properties in the RPZ area will be able to apply for permits or coupons, so they can park without having to pay parking fees. Find out more about the proposed residential parking zone.
Map of the proposed parking zones
- All streets (green and yellow) would be paid parking with no time limits.
- Streets in the residential parking zone (green on the map) where motorists with a permit or visitors’ coupon can park for free: Seafield View Road, Claremont Street, Parkfield Terrace, Huntly Avenue, Glascow Terrace, and Carlton Gore Road from Arotau Place to Park Road.
- Streets not in the residential parking zone (yellow on the map) where paid parking applies: Grafton Road, Arotau Place, Park Avenue, Boyle Crescent, Beckham Place, and Carlton Gore Road from Arotau Place to Grafton Road.
The proposed changes would not affect existing bus stops, loading zones, mobility and car share parking, or ‘no stopping at all times’ restrictions (broken yellow lines) in the area. The existing clearway on Grafton Road will remain.
Parking charges
$1 per hour for the first 2 hours, rising to $2 for each hour afterwards.
Under the proposed changes, any motorist could park in the area, providing they pay the required charge.
Car share parking space
We also propose introducing one ‘car share at all times’ park on Carlton Gore Road. This space will be reserved for car share (hourly hire) vehicles, such as Cityhop vehicles.
Residential parking zone
Residents of eligible properties in the RPZ area will be able to apply for permits or coupons, so the paid parking charges would not apply to their vehicle while parking in that area.
Permits
- A permit costs $70, valid for one year.
- The number of permits issued is capped at 85% of the total number of parks in the zone, ensuring there should always be available spaces.
- Residents can apply for as many permits as there are vehicles registered to their address, but due to the cap, not all may be successful.
- Permits are issued in order of priority, one at a time, in allocation rounds. The process stops once the permit cap is reached or when all applicants have a permit.
- Existing residential parking permits would be discontinued. Holders of these permits would need to apply under the new scheme.
Visitors coupons
- A coupon costs cost $5, valid for one day.
- Residents in the zone would receive 50 free coupons upon registering for a permit. Businesses would not receive these coupons.
- Any eligible resident can purchase coupons from AT. There will not be a restriction on the number that can be bought.
- Unlike permits, coupons could be used both for the purchaser’s vehicle or someone else’s, e.g. a visiting relative or friend.
- Tradespeople could also apply for trade coupons from AT.
Find out more about residential parking zones and the permit process.
Why Grafton needs the changes
As Auckland grows and intensifies, managing parking on residential streets is increasingly important. Overcrowded parking particularly affects city fringe suburbs like Grafton, in which some heritage properties lack off-street parking, and streets are used by commuters for daily parking.
AT has undertaken a study in the area to understand the parking demand, and to design a suitable parking management plan. Our study found:
- On average, 91% of on-street parking was occupied during weekdays.
- 98% of parking in most of the residential streets was occupied.
- The majority of vehicles were parked all day.
- The turnover of vehicles parking in paid parking areas was higher than in the time-restricted or unrestricted areas, where vehicles would often over-stay or park all day.
Benefits
- Improve parking availability.
- Free up on-street parking spaces for customers visiting local businesses, residents and visitors
- Offer greater flexibility in length of stay for visitors.
- Discourage commuter parking.
- Reduce congestion from vehicles looking for a parking space.
- Allow for demand-responsive pricing to manage future parking demand.
Public engagement
From 3 July to 30 July 2017, we sought feedback on our proposal to introduce paid parking and a Residential Parking Zone (RPZ) in Grafton.
Thanks to everyone who provided feedback.
After careful consideration of the public and key stakeholder feedback, we have revised two aspects of the original proposal. We have:
- Extended the Residential Parking Zone (RPZ) and zone for properties eligible to apply for permits on sections of Park Avenue, Arotau Place and Boyle Crescent (please see the revised parking zone map below).
- Increased the parking tariff from $1 to $2 per hour for the first two hours, and from $2 to $4 per hour for each subsequent hour. There will be no time restrictions on how long people can park.
We will continue to monitor parking use in the area and will adjust the pricing up or down if necessary, applying our Demand Responsive Pricing Policy to ensure that parking is managed effectively and is responsive to future growth.
The paid parking zone restriction will remain as proposed and will be operational from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
The proposed changes will not affect the existing bus stops, loading zones, mobility and car share parking, or ‘no stopping at all times’ restrictions (broken yellow lines) in the area. Existing clearway restrictions on Grafton Road will remain.
We believe that proposed parking improvements in Grafton will increase turnover of parking, improve parking availability and encourage other methods of transport to the area other than travelling by car.
Download the public feedback and decisions report (PDF 1.7MB, 34 pages).
