Nine $40 fines and 74 warnings have been issued over the first six days in effect of newly-implemented rules cracking down on berm parking in central Tauranga.

Tauranga City Council’s extended ban on berm parking behind the kerb on the Te Papa Peninsula between Marsh St and Eleventh Ave started on Thursday.

The city’s commissioners adopted the ban as part of a new parking management plan on October 3.

Other changes included the end of the two-hour free parking trial in the CBD, replaced by paid on-street parking with variable charges.

At the meeting, commissioner Bill Wasley supported the decision and said sometimes Tauranga looked like “an utter shambles” because of cars parked behind the berms.

The council’s transport network safety and sustainability manager, Anna Somerville, said nine infringements and 74 warnings had been handed out since Thursday.

The fine for prohibited parking, which includes parking behind the kerb, is $40 and is set by central government legislation.

Somerville said 260 prohibited parking signs had been installed since November 21.

Somerville said as well as safety concerns, parking behind the kerb “contributed to a number of issues” that could be costly to repair and “have an unsightly impact on our neighbourhoods”. These included:

• Creating mud pools (especially in the winter) that end up on the footpath, making it unpleasant for pedestrians;
• Damage to grass, other plants and tree roots;
• Damage to the kerb which can also affect drainage;
• Damage to underground utility services.

“Council have previously permitted some businesses to install sealed parking spaces within the road berm, by either an approved resource consent or a Licence to Occupy. We will review the property files in early 2023 to identify approved spaces.”

The decision came after a report prepared for the council by transportation consultancy MRCagney found the number of cars parked on berms during the middle of the day was around 250, according to observations from aerial photographs.

It also said there was “a significant amount of parking” on berms and in reserves, and if parking in these areas was prevented, the flow-on effect would likely be to “increase use of formal car parks in the area”.

A report says preventing berm parking is likely to increase formal car park use. Photo / Luke Kirkness

MRCagney recommended the restriction on parking behind the kerb be extended throughout the entire area for the following reasons:

• Parking on berms can reduce the amenity benefits these areas provide for other street users, residents, and visitors to the area;
• Parking management measures will be more effective in circumstances where drivers are not able to park behind the kerb line and avoid any restrictions applying to the on-street formed car parks;
• Berm parking can also result in adverse effects on ecological systems and the quality of the environment in general, e.g. water and soil quality, and the ecological benefits berm areas can have.

Other changes the council agreed to, including changes to parking time limits on the Te Papa Peninsula between Marsh St and Eleventh Ave and the implementation of parking restrictions across the city-centre’s fringe and wider areas in Te Papa up to Eleventh Ave, will come into effect in November next year.

In March, the Bay of Plenty Times reported the council lost more than $2 million running the city’s parking facilities in the 2020/21 financial year. Figures showed it made $4.6m in parking revenue but spent $6.7m.

On Thursday, parking changed from two hours of free parking to $1 per hour for the first two hours, then $5 per hour after that from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.