The council has announced it is consulting on proposed amendments to the Roading Bylaw in October. Photo: 123RF
- Cars are being left in marking spots for up to months at a time
- 700 cars are estimated to be on the island, with only 400 residents
- Consultation on the proposed changes ends on 10 October.
A Rakiura/Stewart Island Ward councillor is relieved the Southland District Council is attempting to crack-down on anti-social parking, as cars are clogging up parking in popular places.
The council has announced it is consulting on proposed amendments to the Roading Bylaw in October, after concerns about traffic issues.
It said two issues of particular concern were parking behaviours, and the safety of road users on the network of roads on the hillside approaching Observation Rock.
The proposed amendments included 30 new parking restrictions and 16 adjustments, and a one-way system near Observation Rock due to safety concerns around some of the hillside roads.
Issues about the road around Observation Rock were raised in 2017, as the streets were very narrow and struggled to support two-way vehicle use.
Rakiura Ward councillor Jon Spraggon said people left their cars parked for an unreasonable amount of time, which could stretch from days to weeks, to even a couple of months.
He said it had been an issue for a long time.
"On Stewart Island, we've only got 32 kilometres of road. There's only 400 of the permanent population, but we have approximately 700 cars and vehicles - the ratio is pretty high of vehicles to the distance."
He said the majority of cars belonged to permanent residents.
"A lot of our motels and homes are bed and breakfasts and have courtesy cars and extra cars.
"But it's also the B&Bs Airbnbs where in many cases the people, when they're leaving, they're told, 'Just leave the vehicle on the waterfront and the next guest will pick it up from there,' even though the next guest might be a week later."
He said there were major trouble spots.
"The main the waterfront around to our community centre, it's all in a small area, and Half Moon Bay is the main area of concern. There's also a section at Golden Bay.
"At the moment, there's really no bylaws to handle it. The little bit of parking restrictions we've got here [are] ad hoc and doesn't work.
"So we're coming in with a much larger scheme and we will be getting parking wardens, even if we have to bring them from the mainland every so often, to police it."
Consultation on the proposals closed on 10 October.
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