Thursday 29 August

The Frank Kitts Park car park will reopen later this year following new guidance from MBIE and a recent reassessment of its seismic risk.

Guidance for earthquake-prone buildings – developed by MBIE since the car park closed – has shown the space can be reopened for parking purposes, and a traffic resolution approved by Wellington City Council has completed the process to make it available for public use again.

Council’s Wellington Waterfront Manager Shane Binnie says an occupancy risk assessment (ORA) provides seismic risk guidance to help decide how earthquake-prone buildings can be used.

“In early 2020 the public car park was closed as a precautionary measure, following an engineering assessment that identified seismic risk if the space was used for purposes other than parking, including events and markets. The new assessment allowed us to reconsider the risk, and the decision to reopen the car park just for parking was made during the Long-term Plan 2024 – 2034 process.

“We’ve taken a similar approach for other Council-owned buildings including the Michael Fowler Centre and the Opera House.”

Some maintenance mahi is needed before the car park can reopen to the public, including repainting any faded parking lines and making sure all lights are working properly. New parking machines will be installed, and a new entry/exit system for the Jervois Quay entrance investigated.

Getting the 97-space car park operational again is likely to take around four months, and cost around $30,000. Parking fees will be consistent with other Council-operated waterfront car parks like Barnett Street.

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