A raft of changes, identified by the council's parking strategy working party, were confirmed at an extraordinary council meeting on Thursday.
The changes included reduced tariffs and maximum stays, and the introduction of new "authorised vehicle only" spaces for delivery drivers.
The moves followed months of public anger since the introduction of the council's new parking strategy in July which saw four-hour maximum stays and $1- to $4-an-hour parking tariffs, to the horror of some business owners.
Contacted yesterday, Frederick St business owner Mandy Smart acknowledged positives from Thursday's council meeting, but said more work was needed.
She planned to continue "campaigning" for the restoration of free P10 and P30 parks on Frederick St, removed when parking changes were first introduced in July.
The council had already responded by restoring some P5 parking across the city, including on Frederick St, and cut four-hour maximum stays at pay-and-display machines to just one hour in the area.
And, at Thursday's meeting, it was decided to further reduce maximum stays to just 30 minutes for five pay-and-display spaces on Frederick St, between George St and Great King St.
However, Mrs Smart said additional longer-stay free-parking spaces would allow the elderly to visit the Knox Pharmacy without fear of quickly earning a ticket.
Shorter P5 spaces were more appropriate in other areas, for example outside the Dunedin Public Library, for motorists dropping off books.
She also remained angry at the parking debacle, saying "this whole situation could have been avoided".
"They [the council] are all patting themselves on the back now . . . but they made the mistake in the beginning. We all had to cry out and, because we cried out, they are all now patting themselves on the back.
"I think we all need to be really careful the council isn't given gold stars here, because they haven't earned those gold stars."
Frederick St businesses were still feeling the effect of the parking changes, which had changed the habits of customers and would take time to reverse, she believed.
Leviathan Hotel owner Peter Laing, who organised the July meeting that rallied 120 opponents of the new parking regime, agreed, saying the changes might be "too late" for some inner-city retailers.
"Shoppers now are going to go out to the big footprint shops, like Pak'n Save and The Warehouse in South Dunedin. I think we are seeing the beginning of the end of the CBD," he said.
Deputy mayor Syd Brown, who led the council's parking working party, could not be reached for comment late yesterday.
Warehouse general manager of operations Karl Parker, of Auckland, confirmed the company had noticed a shift in customers towards its South Dunedin store, although exact details were not available.
"What we have noticed is an incline in the performance of our South Dunedin store and a decline in our Central City store. I don't know if it's due to parking or whatever changes have happened in South Dunedin."
