"A high-ranking bureaucrat at Auckland Transport says the council-controlled organisation is pushing ahead with a radical plan to retain kerbside parking on 96.75% of its roads over the next decade, despite urgent calls to reduce traffic deaths, congestion & transport emissions."
Auckland Transport’s radical plan to not remove enough parking - Spinoff, 5 April 2022
Despite what you've heard, Auckland Transport is not coming for your parking. Councillors did not vote to remove parking - they voted to send the proposal for public consultation.
The proposal is that on main arterial routes (making up on less than 3% of the roads in Auckland), if there is a conflict between keeping kerbside parking and walking, cycling or public transport, the parking will have less priority. That doesn't mean that carparks will necessary go and despite what some are claiming, there are no specific plans to remove any specific carparks. The list of roads that might be impacted includes those that don't have any kerbside parking, like Te Irirangi Dr - the actual impact of any changes will be minimal.
Auckland Council currently provides 600,000 free car parks which is about 900 hectares. Estimates suggest we're spending about $1 billion per annum from ratepayers for free car parks. Obviously we need carparks for people who are using vehicles and even under this "radical" proposal, there will be plenty available.
What this proposal does is shift the balance to allow our city to reduce congestion, improve safety and hopefully start to address our growing climate emissions.
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