A petition from garden users and customers of the cafe inside the garden has been signed by hundreds and is calling for parking to be restricted to three hours to stop students and other members of the public from parking all day.
Croque-o-dile Cafe worker Charlotte Patrick said its customers started the petition after becoming annoyed at not being able to find a park.
She believed the problem was a direct result of a lack of parks at University of Otago, which acknowledged it had 400 fewer parks than usual because of its building programme.
"When you go out at the end of the day, there are always people coming from the university, and you notice when [the students] are not here there are more parks available," Ms Patrick said.
Cafe owner David Law said he had taken the issue to the Dunedin City Council, which last year put up signs saying the park was for garden users only. He doubted the signs would work as it was difficult for staff to enforce the rule.
He emphasised it was not just affecting cafe patrons, but all garden users.
Garden team leader Alan Matchett could not be reached for comment yesterday, but a council spokesman said the car park in the lower garden was intended only for use by people visiting the garden.
