The car parks are one of several amendments proposed for the Pembroke Park and Bridgeman Green Reserve Management Plan 2007, and the one evoking the biggest public outcry.
More than 60 of the 85 submissions received by the Queenstown Lakes District Council are opposed to the addition of car parks along the Brownston St frontage of the park.
The angled parks would encroach 4.3m within the reserve boundary - marked by a chain link fence - along three sections of the park totalling nearly 300m. In exchange for the reserve land taken, parcels of existing road reserve would be given to the park. Objectors have deemed these areas worthless for recreational purposes.
Many submitters described the park as Wanaka's ''treasure'', ''jewel in the crown'', or greatest asset, which should be preserved and protected in perpetuity. They criticised ''bad council planning'' for not requiring sufficient parking within the CBD for commercial activities.
''All new developments and businesses should have to pay money in lieu of, or provide car parks,'' Pam McRae, of Wanaka, said.
Her comments were mirrored by many others, including Noel Williams, of Wanaka, who said the council was attempting to use Pembroke Park as ''an easy-fix remedy'' for its inadequate parking planning.
''Council is in breach of its obligations as a `Guardian' by this attempt to make Pembroke Park available for blurring into other council issues and uses,'' Mr Williams wrote.
William Pullar, of Wanaka, said the proposal was a ''huge step backwards and a betrayal of our forefathers' vision of an area protected on our lakefront for all to enjoy''.
The QLDC's ''lack of foresight'' should not be used to justify another ''grab'', Dunedin resident Mayford Dawson said.
Several objectors referenced an alternative parking concept plan - prepared by Paterson Pitts for the Friends of Pembroke Park group and including 170 car parks on Brownston and Ardmore Sts, outside the Pembroke Park boundary - as being far more suitable.
Safety issues on Brownston St were raised on both sides of the argument. Some submitters suggested cars reversing out of the angle parking would be hazardous and create traffic congestion, while others viewed angled parks as a safer option for passing cyclists.
The Friends of Pembroke Park's submission said there appeared to have been no analysis of demand for additional parking on Pembroke Park or of parking alternatives.
Those in favour of the proposal said it would tidy up the Brownston St verge of the park.
Ed Taylor, of Wanaka, felt it would complete work which had already ''dramatically improved'' the look of Brownston St and the rest of the park's perimeter. Bruce King, also of Wanaka, said the whole community owned the park and the Friends of Pembroke Park had ''no more right to this land than the people of Wanaka''.
He urged elected officials to ''face up to the decision and get on with it'', rather than being ''dictated to'' by the Friends of Pembroke Park.
Several Wanaka Chamber of Commerce executive committee members said the proposal future-proofed car-parking for park users, as it meant they would not have to use parking spaces in the business district, which should be kept free for customers of the businesses.
Mike and Clare Allison, of Wanaka, described the proposal as a ''simple and sensible'' way of creating much-needed parking, with minimal effects on Pembroke Park.
Other amendments to the management plan would allow helicopter landings in the park - which submitters were divided on - and removal of a provision for developing a further 60 car parks and six bus parks at the McDougall St end of the park.
Crs Leigh Overton and Jude Battson and Wanaka Community Board member Dick Kane have been appointed to hear public submissions on Friday, June 7.
