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Motorists have largely ignored the 10-minute parking restriction along Leeston’s High St, which has been in place for at least 30 years.
But they have now gone after a plea from the Leeston Community Committee and residents.
It comes after the Selwyn District Council’s parking warden started policing the street over the last 12 months – but only issued one $20 ticket during that time.
The presence of the parking warden was enough for the community to ask the council to remove the restrictions.
The 10-minute limits have now been dropped until January as part of a trial.
Pharmacy owner Lynne Stevens said one of her customers was fined in September.
“She was just bewildered,” she said.
Stevens was pleased to see the limits removed.
“It often takes longer than 10 minutes to fill a prescription, so the limits were not practical.”
Leeston Coffee Company manager Bex Eveleigh said the restrictions were forcing customers to move their cars.
“Someone would come in and say, ‘There is a person giving tickets’, and people would run out and move their cars,” she said.
Eveleigh said the removal of the limits was “awesome” and would allow people to spend more time in the township.
Hammer Hardware owner Robyn Casey was pleased the limits had been removed but did not want the council to run a trial.
“It needs to be permanently removed as far as I’m concerned,” she said.
“It’s our main street; we want people to do business with us. We want them to shop local; putting a 10-minute limit on part of the street is ludicrous, and it always was.
“It’s time for it to go and stay gone.”
Community Committee chair Bryan Tubb said the committee had been working with the council for several months to have the limits removed.
“It’s really good news and has been hard work for a few of our committee members over the past six months or so.
“It was probably justified 30 years ago when there was less parking.”
Councillor-at-large Samuel Wilshire, who helped the community get the change, said the township did not need time limits on its main street.
“Good solution, easy to resolve; we don’t collect revenue from people going to have a coffee with their kids,” he said.