More than 40 inner-city carparks in Dunedin set aside for residents only may become freely available to everyone.
The parks often sat unused or were used by people they were not intended for, the Dunedin City Council said.
A proposal to convert 41 unused resident-only carparks to unrestricted general parking, as well as 11 other proposed parking changes, was considered at a hearings committee meeting last month.
Fewer permit applications were being approved as applicants had access to existing off-street parking or were not meeting other policy criteria, which had led to many resident-only carparks not being used by permitted vehicles.
"Resident-only parking has a very specific set of criteria which means that many people who live in this area and apply are ineligible.
"This leaves a number of allocated resident-only parking spaces unused on the road," the proposal said.
The carparks, in Royal Tce, Heriot Row and other areas on the City Rise, currently total 66, which the proposal aimed to whittle down to 25.
They had been unused for at least one year and most had sat unused for more than two years, a report on the proposal stated.
The Pitt St end of Elder St would relinquish all five of its resident-only carparks, while Royal Tce would lose a total of 12, the most of any of the areas in question.
City Rise Up co-founder Liz Angelo-Roxborough said in recent years the City Rise area had become "one giant carpark for workers".
This comprised those who parked in the area while they worked in the city during the day, school pupils who attended five "well-established" schools on the hill and tertiary students.
Among them were long-term residents, families and older or disabled residents who needed a car at their door.
Public consultation on the proposal attracted 30 responses, which were equally divided between those who supported and opposed it.
Of five current permit holders who responded to the consultation, four opposed the proposal.
Feedback indicated the carparks were being used by those who they were not intended for.
Tradespeople, visitors, university students and unauthorised residents, outside of enforcement hours, would use the carparks rather than the residents themselves.
The other proposed parking changes presented to the committee, both minor parking changes and larger projects, would yield a net loss of 37 restricted and 97 unrestricted carparks across the city if implemented, a total reduction of 134, the report stated.
An additional 234 carparks would be affected by changes to restriction types and times, but this would not affect the overall numbers.
