Wellington Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the news that the Wellington City Council will undertake a parking review.

"We have been calling on the Council to undertake a stocktake and review of parking for some time," says John Milford, Chief Executive. "It's well overdue but welcomed.

"It has been well over a decade since the council put in place the current parking policy, and yet the way we move around and use the city has drastically changed. Further, the lack of parking availability has been compounded by the loss of major car parking buildings due to the earthquakes and loss of on-street parking due to building strengthening and cycleways.

"Businesses are concerned about parking and access in the city. This is a common concern highlighted through our quarterly business confidence surveys. One recent comment was that ‘with the significant loss of parking facilities, is making the city a very unfriendly place to meet in’.

"That's the last thing we want to be said of our city.

"It’s frustrating that this consultation is only a prelude to future formal consultation and ought to be aligned with the Let's Get Welly moving programme. Given we all agree parking is an issue, and it has been for some time now, it would be better to do it once and do it right.

"The review has got to look at demand, capacity and accessibility based on sound data. Given the smart parking technology the Council has in place we believe it is in a strong position to undertake this consultation with smart data modelling and solutions.

"The Chamber will be making a submission on behalf of the regional business community, and we encourage all Wellingtonians, businesses, and visitors to have their say at letstalk.wellington.govt.nz."

ENDS

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