Tauranga City's Mayor and Councillors have approved a 20-minute grace period for all council-operated parking in the city centre and city centre fringe paid zones.

The resolution, passed at Tuesday’s Council meeting, is now in effect and applies to all on-street and off-street carparks in the city centre, including the Elizabeth Street and Spring Street parking buildings.

The decision follows the Council’s ongoing commitment to bring more people into the city centre. The Council has heard that parking is one of the barriers and this will help take away a barrier for short-term stays.

Te Papa Ward Councillor Rod Taylor has been regularly engaging with city centre businesses about parking and wider challenges and says the grace period is one of the ways Council is responding to their feedback.

“We acknowledge that some hospitality and retail businesses in the city centre are doing it tough. The grace period means people can now quickly drop by the city centre for up to 20 minutes without paying – which is helpful if they’re there to grab a coffee, collect takeaways, or pop into the pharmacy,” he says.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale acknowledges there is no one silver bullet to the issues some businesses are facing, however the grace period is one solution the Council can implement immediately while other options are explored.

“We’re listening to people’s concerns and will continue to consider viable and targeted parking options to support the retail and hospitality sector in the city centre and encourage more visitors into the area,” says Mahé.

To use the grace period, simply park in a paid parking area for under 20 minutes without using the machine or the app.

As part of Tuesday’s decision, Council will also work with businesses and the accessibility community to identify where additional P5 and mobility parks should be located. City centre loading zones can be used by anyone for quick stops of up to five minutes, helping ensure space is available for high-turnover activities.

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