Measures introduced by the Queenstown Lakes District Council to relieve parking congestion along Wanaka's lakefront are not working as drivers ignore the ``no parking on the grass'' signs and a free overflow car park nearby remains empty.
Earlier this month the QLDC announced it was opening up several reserves in Queenstown and Wanaka for free temporary overflow parking to help traffic flow smoothly and to ease parking congestion in the town centres during the peak holiday summer season.
A QLDC spokeswoman said it was too early to assess the demand for the free overflow parking at the Wanaka A&P showgrounds but suggested a lack of awareness could be the reason why it was not being used.
Information about the overflow car park was on the council website and several social media sites, she said.
Australian tourist Julie McClure said she didn't see the ``No Parking on the Grass'' sign when her family stopped at the lakefront for a break on the way to the West Coast.
``I'm from outback Australia and I always find it stressful driving in a foreign place, so I was more worried about not running over another tourist, or someone on a bike or a skateboard, rather than looking out for any signs,'' Mrs McClure said.
``Anyway, I think it's ridiculous not allowing you to park on the grass here and have to park further away. This is New Zealand. It rains here all the time, the grass will grow back the next day and besides, it's all about making people happy and happy tourists spend money,'' she said.
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This attitude is exactly what is ruining NZ. Although it is just a piece of grass it is a metaphor of nz's environment. At what point do we say enough is enough. Yes, the tourist dollar helps families of NZ but also corporate greed takes more than their fare share. The expense of this is the environment. Happy Tourists! What about happy Kiwi's!? Our country is unique in many ways. Let's keep it like that. The tourists come here for that reason. We need to restrict tourist numbers through a ballot system and encourage the law of supply and demand to take control. Short term pain for term gain while tourists accept the policy. The future generations of kiwi's will then be able to enjoy their right rather than the tourist of today destroying it.