Parking fees going up in Christchurch
The Christchurch City Council, as part of its 10-year budget, the long-term plan, last week confirmed on-street parking in the central city will increase from $3.10 an hour to $4.50 – a 45 per cent increase.
The cost to park at the council’s Lichfield St car park building will also rise from $2.80 an hour to $4 – a 43 per cent increase. The rate at the Art Gallery car park doubles from $2 an hour to $4.
By comparison, people are charged $4.50 an hour to park in central Wellington and $2.50 on the weekend. Auckland charges $5 an hour for the first two hours and then $10 per hour after that.
The on-street fee hikes are expected to generate $660,000 of additional revenue for Christchurch. That figure would have been $960,000, but the council planned to waive the credit card fees and pay them itself, at a cost of $300,000.
The increase in off-street parking charges is expected to bring in an extra $162,000.
Poll: Is the increase in disability parking fines fair?
In October, the fine for parking in a designated mobility car park without a permit has jumped from $150 to $750—a 400% increase!
The goal is to keep these spaces open for those who truly need them. Do you think this big increase in the fine is fair? Share your thoughts below.
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89.1% Yes, it's fair
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10.3% No, it's unreasonable
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0.7% Other - I'll share below
Cyclists forced to use ‘more dangerous’ crossing if cycleway closed
Closing a Christchurch cycleway to avoid an unsafe rail crossing will lead cyclists across an even “more dangerous” crossing, cycling advocates say.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has weighed in on the issue, calling the move to shut a 1.5km section of the Heathcote Expressway for up to two years, “illogical”. He has asked KiwiRail to explain.
KiwiRail is demanding Christchurch City Council close part of the expressway until $6.5 million worth of safety improvements can be made to the Scruttons Rd rail crossing.
It said the “unsafe” crossing posed the risk of death or serious injury once every thousand years.
What do you do think? Read the full story by reporters Sinead Gill and Tina Law here and tell us what you think in the comments. (A subscription is required, but you can see two free articles a month).
House fire causing road closures
Pages Road is closed this afternoon from Breezes Road, this is due to a house that has caught fire in the area.
Coastal Ward Community Board member, Alex Hewison, shared the closure on a local Facebook page.
Fire and Emergency are at the scene but further details have not been shared at this stage.
Avoid the area where possible.
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