29 June 2026: New parking system

Media: Local Democracy Reporter

Topic: New inner city parking system

Enquiry

I'm following up on concerns raised by the owner of Korean Mart Rotorua regarding the new permit parking restrictions at the corner of Hinemoa Street and Hinemaru Street, which are due to come into effect on 1 July.

The business owner says they lodged an objection with the council's parking team on 10 June but has yet to receive a response. They also believe the decision to classify the area as permit parking, rather than a short-stay or City Zone area, will negatively impact businesses that rely on high-turnover customer parking.

Could the council please respond to the following questions:

1. Can the council confirm it received the objection on 10 June, and if so, why has the business owner not yet received a response?
2. What was the rationale for designating this section of Hinemoa Street and Hinemaru Street as permit parking, given it services active retail businesses that rely on short-stay customer parking?
3. Has the council received any other feedback or objections from businesses or members of the public regarding the new permit parking zones ahead of the 1 July rollout? If so, how many?
4. Is the council willing to review or amend the parking designation for this location if it becomes clear the changes are having an adverse impact on local businesses?
5. What is the council's response to the business owner's concerns that the current parking designation could discourage customers and threaten the viability of businesses operating at this intersection?

Response

From Destination Development Group Manager Jean-Paul Gaston:

Can the council confirm it received the objection on 10 June, and if so, why has the business owner not yet received a response?

Yes the request was received by council on 10 June 2026.

The Principal Advisor for Community Safety and Regulatory Services visited the store on the morning of 25 June however Mr Kim had not yet arrived. A follow up email was sent to Mr Kim that morning.

What was the rationale for designating this section of Hinemoa Street and Hinemaru Street as permit parking, given it services active retail businesses that rely on short-stay customer parking?

The permit areas are designed to cater to long-stay parking. The areas which will transition to permit parking are currently mostly free or paid all-day parking with some P180 (free or paid time-limited) parks.

The parks near Mr Kim’s business are currently both free all-day parks and P180 parks. There are no short-stay parks (i.e. P60s) in the immediate vicinity. Observations during the recent site visit to Mr Kim’s store indicated that these parks, including the P180s were already at full capacity.

The remaining portion of Hinemoa Street will continue to be paid parking ($2/hr for the first three hours) and the existing 10-minute grace period, which applies across the city's on-street parking areas, will also remain so customers can do quick pick-ups.

Has the council received any other feedback or objections from businesses or members of the public regarding the new permit parking zones ahead of the 1 July rollout? If so, how many?

During the public consultation process at the beginning of this year, one of the themes identified was requests for affordable options for inner city workers such as permits.

We have received lots of feedback about the new parking system in general however, we have recently received feedback from two businesses specifically about the changes to permit areas.

Is the council willing to review or amend the parking designation for this location if it becomes clear the changes are having an adverse impact on local businesses?

Yes. Mr Kim has been advised that while there are no immediate plans to adjust the parking layout, this is just a starting point. Further refinements may be considered once users have had time to adapt to the changes and sufficient data is available to identify trends and demand.

What is the council's response to the business owner's concerns that the current parking designation could discourage customers and threaten the viability of businesses operating at this intersection?

We acknowledge Mr Kim’s concerns and will be monitoring the area to ensure that Council has a sound understanding of the impact of the changes. The parking layout is required to cater for the needs of the wider area, and it is important that any changes are given sufficient time to settle in and so sustained trends can be identified. We will continue to keep in touch with Mr Kim over the next couple of months to understand any impacts.