Decision

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Approved to the:

1. 1.  Changing the operational hours to Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 6:30 pm and Saturday 8:30 am to 1:30 pm in all roads within Zone F.
2. 2.  Proposals to convert all existing resident and business permit bays to general permit bays.
3. 3.  Implementation of the parking design changes for Zone F.

REASONS FOR DECISION

Although Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 6:30 pm, was the most popular option, the widespread support for extended hours across the zone, coupled with the independent stress survey indicating significant weekend stress, led to the conclusion that reducing operational hours would not benefit residents and businesses.

Although there was notable support (15%) for Monday to Sunday controls, this level was deemed insufficient to justify implementing this option independently. The parking stress survey revealed increased parking stress in the evenings compared to controlled hours; however, this increase was not significant enough to warrant extending control hours.

Converting all business and resident bays to general permit bays will standardise parking bay types and signage throughout the zone.

DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

An alternative was to forgo a review consultation and maintain current parking controls in Zone F. However, this would conflict with the Council's parking policies and consultation charter, as it would ignore the needs of residents and businesses. Delaying the review and consultation was an option but contradicted the Council's policies, and there were compelling reasons to proceed with a review.

Regarding operational hours, maintaining the existing schedule was not an option. This aligns with Council policies, which advocate for standardising parking zone hours wherever possible to minimise confusion for motorists parking in different zones.

Parking Services explored creating a split zone with varying operational hours in different sections. However, this approach was deemed unviable upon reviewing the distribution of support for the three most popular operational hours options, as it was found that support for each option was evenly spread across the entire zone.