The disquiet came as councillors at yesterday's Dunedin City Council planning and regulatory committee meeting received an update on additional steps taken to manage freedom camping problems in the city.
That included new signs and security patrols at Macandrew Bay and Ocean View, which together would cost the council about $17,600 this summer.
Despite that, council reserves and recreation planning team leader Richard Saunders said some freedom campers were continuing to ignore rules at Macandrew Bay.
Five overnight parks had been set aside in the area for vehicles without on-board toilets, but more than that had been staying in recent weeks, he said.
Extra security patrols could also not be expected to encourage ''total compliance'' this summer, ''as this would require an almost constant presence on site'', his report said.
The council was continuing to talk to the Department of Conservation about the development of a Doc-style camping ground on the peninsula, with a feasibility study expected to be completed by March 31, he said.
Some councillors spoke in support of that initiative at yesterday's meeting, including Cr Neville Peat, a staunch critic of freedom camping provisions in Macandrew Bay.
He reiterated those concerns yesterday, but said a Doc-style camping ground on the peninsula would plug a ''glaring gap'' in Doc's national network of camping grounds.
''On the peninsula, a major wildlife attraction for visitors, we don't see anything of the sort.''
Mr Saunders said Doc staff were ''very co-operative'' about the proposal, and ''very keen to see this progress''.
Cr Aaron Hawkins also voiced the concerns of some Macandrew Bay residents, who he said had contacted him to say how ''embarrassed'' they were by the proliferation of freedom camping signs in the area.
Mr Saunders said proliferation was not intended and the signs' wording had already been revised for this summer in response to feedback.
Cr Andrew Whiley said camping problems were not limited to Macandrew Bay, as six camper vans - including two without toilets - had recently been photographed beside the Oval.
That showed freedom campers were not using the city's designated areas and camping facilities, and instead parking ''anywhere'', he said.
''We need to do a better job and we can do a better job.''
Cr Whiley was also alarmed by the proposal to use Bayfield Park car park as an additional overnight stop for freedom campers.
''The big disappointment and frustration I have is I don't want to see our city parks, like Bayfield Park, become camping grounds, when those places are for the residents,'' he said.
Councillors voted to accept Mr Saunders' report.
