Ratepayers will have to decide between visitors and commuters for parking priorities, the Queenstown Lakes District Council utilities committee was told at their monthly meeting yesterday.
Presenting what he termed a "significant report" to the committee, QLDC transportation planning manager Denis Mander said a proposed parking review in central Queenstown would highlight anomalies around the town.
Car parking in Queenstown had been a source of dissatisfaction for some time - first or second on the list of priorities for council's attention in the past four annual residents' surveys, he said.
Anomalies around parking in central Queenstown included hours of parking, differences between unrestricted and restricted parking time areas, taxi stand inequities, P15 parking areas, loading zones and parking charges.
Any review of parking should also address the use of Wilsons underground car park, currently leased as long term parks, Cr Macleod said.
Cr van Uden called for the proposed parking review to balance the needs of commuters who had to drive their cars to town because there was no bus service, especially if changes to parking restrictions did away with unrestricted commuter parking, to which Mr Mander replied: "Do visitors or commuters have priority? That's what people will have to decide".
To address the anomalies in the parking, Mr Mander proposed the review begin with a public consultation starting at the end of August or early September, followed by a hearing in October.
Committee chairman John Mann appointed councillors Mel Gazzard, Gillian Macleod and himself to hear submissions.
The committee passed the recommendation in favour of the review.
