New council inner city parking plan in motion
Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick and Inner City Enterprises Operations Manager Richard Horn helping install new electronic parking space sensors in the inner city.
Rotorua District Council (RDC) is in the process of implementing a new parking programme for Rotorua's heart of the city, commencing on 2 December for an 18 month trial. The parking improvements are a direct response to community feedback during public consultation on the council's current Annual Plan.
The new parking programme, Park Rotorua, includes free two-hour parking (P120) in the immediate inner city area, retaining the existing unlimited metered parking on the inner city fringes and free unlimited parking on the perimeter of the city.
Rotorua Mayor-elect Steve Chadwick says the new parking initiative has been designed to provide better parking options for shoppers, visitors, workers and inner city businesses, and to support the growth and revitalisation of Rotorua's inner city.
This is an exciting development for Rotorua's heart of the city, particularly leading into the busy Christmas period, but also beyond that as we seek to build and regenerate our inner city.
Park Rotorua involves the installation of innovative wireless in-ground sensors across approximately 1500 inner city parking spaces, including metered and P120 unmetered bays.
The sensors will monitor the P120 free spaces, providing notifications directly to council staff about parking overstays. Data will also be collated from other sensors about paid and unlimited parking bays, to help develop future Council parking plans.
The new parking system is being installed, maintained and supported by Smart Parking, an international company that has already overseen the successful implementation and operation of parking systems in Taupo, Hamilton and New Plymouth. The sensors will be monitored by both the council and Smart Parking.
The new technology was tested earlier this year on 30 car park spaces in Pukuatua Street, and some additional spaces located in areas with high levels of geothermal activity and sulphur.
The trial also collected parking data to make comparisons with the existing metered parking system.
RDC Inner City Enterprises manager, Nick Dallimore, says the initial trial has proven very successful, leading to implementation of this new parking programme, with the first phase of sensor installation beginning overnight on Tuesday 29 October.
Installation works are scheduled to take place on a street-by-street basis, ready for the go live' date of 2 December.
Where a street has residential or hotel accommodation, installation work will take place before 10pm and after 7am. Installation on all other streets will be between 7pm and 5am to minimise business disruption.
The council and contractors Smart Parking are committed to minimising the impact of the installation phase on inner city users, including residents, businesses, visitors and workers, Mr Dallimore says.
The schedule has been carefully planned so as to minimise the effect on people's everyday activities.
Business, residents and customers will be informed about pending work in their street and will be asked to vacate parking spaces by 7pm on the relevant night.
Electronic communication equipment will be installed in each street, however there will be no disruption to day-to-day operations and activities in the inner city.
Further information about Park Rotorua will be widely promoted to the public before the new system comes into effect on 2 December.