Why is Council surveying parking in the central city?
Parking availability has been highlighted as one of the most significant challenges facing vitality in the city heart. In Hamilton we have enough parking spaces but we are not using them well. Well-managed parking enables revitalisation of city centres.
Council is gathering data on parking behaviour and needs so it can better understand the city’s parking situation and best plan parking for the future – what parking spaces and regulations are needed, when and where.
Who will benefit from the survey?
Well-managed parking benefits central city visitors and businesses alike – it makes finding a park more convenient and doing business easier
When will the survey take place?
The survey will begin from Monday 26 April and continue through until the end of June 2010.
How will the information be collected?
The survey will collect quantitative information on where vehicles park and how long they park there for. The information will be collected via:
- Temporary sensors in parking bays that can tell when a car arrives and leaves a parking space, showing which spaces are used the most. These sensors are black rubber mats with a round black and yellow sensor mounted in the centre. It is safe to park on them, they are designed for that purpose.
- Vehicles designed to take automatic photographic records of cars throughout a set circuit at set times. This can also tell where people are parking most and for how long. Only numbers of vehicles and vehicle stay times are stored and no personal information is gathered. Survey cars are marked Council cars with a fluorescent orange 'Parking Survey' sign on them.
What will the information tell Council?
Data from the Smart Parking Trial will help Council identify areas of highest demand, understand how long vehicles are parked and show at what times of the day visitor numbers to the city centre are at their highest.
Is the survey collecting personal information about me?
Only numbers of vehicles and vehicle stay times are stored and no personal information is gathered.
Will the information collected be used to issue parking tickets?
You can park normally on sensor mats and near survey cars during the survey. They are for data collection only and will not be used for parking enforcement, but normal parking restrictions will still apply.
Is there still free weekend parking in the central city?
Yes. Free weekend parking in the central city has been extended until further notice, but from 1 May it will now start from 10am on Saturday.
Why has the Free Weekend Parking start time changed?
Free Weekend Parking is designed to benefit central city visitors and businesses alike – by making finding a park more convenient and doing business easier. But this will only work with the co-operation of staff who work in the central city.
Since the Free Weekend Parking trial began, Council has received a lot of feedback telling us that staff are using these free parks all day, making them unavailable to potential customers and visitors to the city. The new 10am Saturday start time is designed to encourage staff to park in more appropriate long-stay commuter parking instead.
| 
Click 
