Parking in Napier is easier now that fees are higher says the mayor. Photo: LDR
A Napier retail worker got the "shock of her life" when she returned from maternity leave to find her parking costs had doubled.
Hope Hatten, who works for Postie Plus in Napier's CBD, said the daily $16 parking charge was now unaffordable for her - and she's not the only one.
Napier City Council doubled the hourly parking fee in the CBD earlier this year from $1 an hour to $2.
Retail workers and business owners say it's having serious impacts on locals who need it every day and some want the council to offer discounts for regular CBD workers.
But Napier mayor Kirsten Wise isn't keen, saying the increases have had a "very positive impact" on her city because it's easier for shoppers and socialisers to find a park.
However, Hatten said the cost of living was hard enough, without parking increases.
"So now my dad drops me off twice a week and my partner who starts work at 5am has to take me to work in his break."
The cost of a council-leased car park has also increased.
The cheapest in Edwards St costs $24 (an increase of $9) a week.
The closer you get to town the more it's going to cost you. Hastings and Dalton St leased car parks will cost you $48 a week, an increase of $18, while Dickens, Herchell, Raffles, Station, Vautier streets and Tiffen Park all cost $40 a week, an increase of $15 a week.
Store manager Caitlin Norgate said she was lucky to have a car park.
"But I know how hard it is on my girls. I think the council should offer a discount for people who work in the city," Norgate said.
Kolachi Eatery owner Jaz Singh said retailers were already doing it hard and the hike came out of nowhere.
"The first thing we knew of it was when our customers told us. It's a big jump in price for the same service.
The council could have done a better job at advertising it, Singh said.
Crystal Cura owner Davina Hore says she got tired of staff being unable to find parks and having to walk for miles at busy times, so she leased a council car park. Photo: LDR / Linda Hall
Michael Hill store manager Rinika Wadhwa said parking was costing her and other staff a fortune.
"I have to drop my kids off at 8.15am and after that it's impossible to get a cheap or free park. $16 a day is just not on. We are trying to work and put food on the table.
Sales professional at the store Dhana Ilanperuma said it was easy to forget to put more money in the meter or move cars when the store got busy.
"I recently got a $70 fine because I forgot."
Crystal Cura owner Davina Hore says she had tired of staff being unable to find parks so now leased a council car park.
"Council needs to have something for workers."
Napier mayor Kirsten Wise said offering discounts for workers would go against the goals of increasing parking fees.
"The main goal is to make sure those coming into the city to shop or socialise can find a place to park," Wise said.
"Parking fees as they are now, are having a very positive impact on the central city. It's far easier for shoppers to find a park nearby and that's what we want."
The council wants people to know they can find a park in the city, she said.
"What we found before the increase was that short-term users, like shoppers, couldn't find a park so they went elsewhere.
"There are other alternatives for those needing longer-stay or all-day parking including leased parks or parking outside the core CBD."
Wise said Napier's parking fees hadn't increased for more than 20 years before the change.
The city's fees are now on-par with cities of a similar size, including Rotorua, Hutt City and Whangārei, and "cheaper than Hastings by 10 cents", she said.
"Parking fees are ring-fenced so the funds are used for parking but also for improvements in the specific area from which they are collected.
"We did inform people of the change. There's always more we could do with communication but in terms of resources our approach was appropriate."
Napier City Council said the increased parking fees was not part of a last-minute effort to reduce the 2024/2025 rate increase.
"The overall rates increase for 2024/25 was brought down by reducing labour costs and the size of the proposed Resilience Rate.
The original overall rates increase was proposed to be 23.7 percent and these decisions reduced it to 19.95 percent," council said.
"The increase to parking (and some other fees and charges) beyond the usual CPI increase was already built into the original 23.7 percent proposed rates increase. The purpose of increasing some fees beyond the CPI (along with other unrelated proposals) was to stop the original rates increase being even higher than 23.7 percent."
There will be free parking on Thursday, 28 November, for Napier's 150th Commemoration Day and in Taradale on Saturday 7 December for the Christmas Market Day.
Hastings District Council also increased its parking fees in July. On-street parking in Hastings CBD went up 30c to $2.50 an hour. Off-street went from $1.60 an hour to $2 and its leased carparks went up $25 to $130 a month.
Hastings retailers spoken to by Local Democracy Reporting said the biggest problem they had was people parking in private car parks.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
