Council to up parking enforcement for Christmas
Parking wardens will be on the beat in Te Awamutu and Cambridge over Christmas to ensure shoppers and retailers get a fair go when it comes to parking.
Council will be stepping up parking enforcement during December to discourage people from overstaying their welcome in popular carparks. Those who do overstay are likely to be hit with a $15 ticket.
Waipā’s group manager district growth and regulatory services Wayne Allan said Council didn’t like issuing tickets, especially at Christmas. But business owners have made it clear to Council they want time limits enforced.
“We’re not the Christmas Grinch…this is about giving everyone a fair go,” Allan said. “We want to support our local businesses by encouraging a high turnover of cars and shoppers. We have superb shops in our district so let’s make it easier for people to shop locally.”
He noted there were plenty of free longer-stay car parks within a short walk to high streets in both Te Awamutu and Cambridge. Retail and other workers should park there, and leave central car parks for shoppers, including those with limited mobility and visitors from outside the district.
“There are also some great businesses in places like Pirongia and Ōhaupō. We could easily make it an all-Waipā Christmas by supporting local businesses, shops and artisans.”
Parking in Waipā is free but there are time restrictions in place in the Te Awamutu and Cambridge central business districts from 8am – 6pm Monday to Saturdays.
From July to September this year, Council issued 99 parking tickets, evenly split between Cambridge and Te Awamutu, an increase on the same time last year. Of those tickets, 75 were issued for staying too long in time-restricted parking spaces. Ten tickets were issued for parking on yellow lines with two tickets issued to heavy vehicles parking in residential zones.
