The Waimakariri District Council agreed to consult on a new parking and traffic bylaw during a council meeting earlier this month.
Council staff have received 2304 complaints for issues related to parking over the last five years, resulting in nearly 4000 breaches of the previous parking bylaw adopted in 2019.
Complaints included abandoned vehicles being left on the side of the road, cars blocking driveways and footpaths, the parking of motorhomes and trailers, parking close to an intersection or corner and parking on grass verges.
The proposed bylaw would expand the scope of the existing bylaw to include traffic movement controls, provide some clarity around parking in semi rural areas, clearer rules supporting accessibility and the safe use of public spaces, staff said.
It is one of several bylaws the council is reviewing this year, including the stock movement bylaw, new commercial and residential wastewater bylaws, and the property maintenance bylaw.
Councillor Niki Mealings said parking and traffic were topics ‘‘near and dear to our residents' hearts’’.
‘‘It will be interesting to see the kind of feedback we get.
‘We get a high number of service requests... so this is something we need to get right and we are able to enforce.’’
Cr Tim Bartle questioned what happened if someone pulled over on a grass verge in a semi rural area to answer the phone, or to attend to ‘‘children misbehaving’’.
Council environmental services manager Billy Charlton said staff had discretion.
‘‘We would be unlikely to get a complaint for an incident like that and even if we did by the time we got there, they would be gone, and even then we would be unlikely to take any action.’’
The proposed parking and traffic bylaw will be out for consultation from February 6 to March 6, with a hearing to be held if needed.
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