Paid parking in downtown Mount Maunganui would be “another nail in the coffin” for businesses who are already doing it “tough”.

Parking charges could be introduced in the retail area of Maunganui Road and along the beachfronts of the popular seaside suburb as part of the Mount Maunganui Parking Strategy.

On Monday, the Tauranga City commission approved the next step of the plan, which is engagement with the affected community before finalising the plan.

Council parking strategy manager Reece Wilkinson says they would like to have the plan in place before the 2024 tourist season.

Charges and time limits weren’t specified. Wilkinson says it was something they would talk to the community about as part of the engagement. One option he presented showed parking charges could create $1.5m in revenue.

“It's the start of the discussion with coming up for a fix for some of the issues that we face in the area.”

Myrrh & Co florist owner Carolyn Kane says customers constantly complained about not finding a park, so the area needed more parking rather than charges.

“Parking is such an issue. To then go and charge for it, I think we're going to end up with a Tauranga situation where it's just going to kill business.

“Retailers are finding it really tough at the moment, it's down 50 per cent nationally,” says Kane.

The Mount offers a boutique retail experience and businesses were already trying to compete with nearby Bayfair Shopping Centre and Tauranga Crossing that have ample free parking, she says.

“On top of a lot of these things that are against us being in this location, [paid] parking is going to add another nail in the retail coffin.”

Bill Campbell moved his business, Fancy That, from Tauranga CBD to the Mount in May. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

Bill and Frances Campbell saw the direct impact paid parking in Tauranga had on their gift and souvenir store Fancy That.

They left the CBD after 15 years and moved to Mount Maunganui in May this year “to survive”.

Bill Campbell says the ongoing construction of new buildings, earthquake strengthening, and reintroduction of paid parking in December 2022 in Tauranga meant a fall in customers and revenue.

“If we were going quite nicely in town, we would've stayed.”

The turnover of parks was “really good” along the Mount Mainstreet, where parking was limited to 60 minutes, he says.

“There's no issue in regards to the park's being held up. I think if they were putting charges on it'd be revenue gathering.”

Not having been in the Mount for a busy summer season, he says he couldn’t comment on what parking demand was like over that period.

However, he says monitored time limited parking would be better than paid parking.

“Timed parking is probably the ideal thing for most little town centres. They'll know that if they overstay their welcome, they get a ticket [and] that is probably fair.”

Owner of Mount Longboards Kate Evaroa says the timing is wrong for parking charges because “everybody is tight for money”.

“With such a shortage of parking as it is, people just won't be able to afford to pay. The Mount's the golden goose and you're just going to kill the golden goose, and people will just go out of business.”

Owner of The General café William Crosby said parking charges would be damaging to business. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

William Crosby has owned The General café for three years and says if paid parking caused a drop in customers it would be damaging for business.

“Everyone can't really afford to eat out as it is.”

Mount Business Association chair Kate Barry-Piceno says members were against “blanket paid parking” for the retail area.

“Paid parking, with related enforcement and fines, goes against the relaxed holiday vibe of our downtown area.”

The association would hold a meeting in the coming months with the council and its members so they could voice their views.

Evaroa, who has lived in the Mount for 20 years, was concerned the council hadn’t consulted with community before coming up with the plan.

“I really don't know whether people realise that they have got paid parking on the horizon. I think it's really going to shock a lot of people.”

Both Campbell and Crosby learned about the possibility of paid parking from Local Democracy Reporting visiting their businesses.

Wilkson’s report to council says a draft parking plan for Mount Maunganui was commissioned in late 2022.

“The plan seeks to provide better parking turnover to better cater for business needs, worker parking and to reduce the amount of traffic circling the area to locate a carpark in the peak times.”

The council has split Mount Maunganui into four precincts for the parking management plan. Photo: Tauranga City Council.

Under the plan, Mount Maunganui from Sutherland Avenue to Adams Avenue at the base of Mauao, was split into four zones: Beachfront, Town Centre, High Density Residential and Suburban Residential.

There were 2600 parking spaces in the area with 83 per cent of these having no time limits. One option was paid parking in the retail area year round, with parking charges at the Beachfront for summer.

If parking charges similar Tauranga were introduced - $2 per hour for the first two hours then $5 per hour after that - the council could expect $1.8m in revenue, or $1.5m after operating costs were covered, the report says.

Presented with the businesses concerns and asked if parking charges would be comparable to Tauranga, council director of transport Brendan Bisley says: “This strategy will go out to the community for consultation later in the year to seek their feedback on how it could be implemented and the potential impacts.

“We are aware of issues with parking and traffic in the area but understand those issues will be different for different parts of the community and the response will need to cater to those different parts.”

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.