A proposed year-long trial, which will in part see motorists paying for parks up to 10pm in Queenstown, will be considered by the Queenstown Lakes District Council tomorrow.
Council officers were asked to investigate the implications of extending the restricted parking hours from 6pm to 10pm nightly - requiring enforcement - at its meeting in June.
Infrastructure principal planner Tony Pickard said in his report to the council the principal issue in the resort's CBD was the lack of available parking between 6pm and 10pm for ``short-time users'', for example diners, resulting from people parking for long periods.
At present, no enforcement is carried out after 6pm.
Advice was sought from the police on the chance of increased risk to council staff, but it was believed there would be ``minimal health and safety concerns''.
DowntownQT was also consulted. It highlighted the main motivation for businesses would be to release car parks taken up by evening workers, freeing them up for diners.
``However, there was a preference for a mix of parking times, with 120 minutes being a suitable length of parking period for diners, rather than the existing time-restricted parking.''
The report said existing parks available, ranging from 10 minutes to two hours, were considered ``an appropriate mix'' and if more specific 120-minute parks were introduced it could be ``confusing'' for customers to have the change of rules after 6pm.
``It is recommended to extend the current rules and times for a longer period, i.e. 10pm. The extended period would also align with the intention of the current trials to increase the availability of parking spaces.''
Mr Pickard said the trial would require increased patrols, as well as involving an extra workload for administration staff.
He proposed two staff be employed for the duration of the trial.
That would cost about $82,000, taking into account staff time, ticket machines and body cameras.
If accepted by the council, the trial was proposed to start at the beginning of October and require 19 parking meters around the CBD to be set to charge for the extra hours.
