Council resolved today to begin a one-year trial of free parking in the city centre on Saturdays. The free parking will begin on Saturday 15 December.

City Transformation Chair Larry Baldock said that this was a decision made with the community in mind, and an opportunity to encourage more people to visit the city centre in the weekend.

'There are more and more events, activities, retail and hospitality experiences popping up in the city centre and now there are plenty of parks available free of charge,” he said.

The city centre has more than 3000 parks, including Elizabeth Street carpark, Spring Street car park, offsite parks along the waterfront and on-street parking.

While all parks will be free on Saturdays, on-street parks will continue to have set time restrictions. Off-street parking and parking buildings do not have time limits on Saturdays. Parking is free on Sundays as normal.

The decision today builds on a close working relationship with Mainstreet Tauranga in developing initiatives to respond to the challenges of a growing city centre. Mainstreet Tauranga proposed the free parking initiative to support their retail members.

'We are really pleased to support Mainstreet Tauranga members, and work with all our city centre partners on addressing challenges and taking up opportunities”, said Cr. Baldock.

'This is a positive example of collaboration, working together on the exciting transformation of our city centre, creating a great space to live, work, learn and play.”