Today I presented to the @WgtnCC on the proposed Smarter Ways to Manage Parking policy.

Wanted to share a few points from the meeting because how we treat parking has deep implications for our transport systems.

As @DonaldShoup says, there is a 'high cost to free parking'.

For context for the non-Kiwis: NZ has one of the highest levels of car ownership in the world (second only to Lebanon).

Wellington is also one of the most congested cities in Australasia, and it's getting worse with a big new highway about to add a heap more traffic.

Cars are so valuable to our transport mix because we can drive/park them cheaply and we've underinvested in PT.

We've got min parking reqs, box stores with free car parks, and unless it's downtown, it's cheap.

'Kiwi's love their cars' and we're used to parking being the norm.

Nowhere is this norm more obvious than resident car parks in Wellington.

In the suburbs less than 3km from the CBD, renting a room costs >$280/week but you can get a onstreet resident parking permit for $2.50-3.84/week for something the same size.

But this land isn't free.

Market rent for a garage in these areas is $50-75/week.

I know - friends use theirs for storage and park onstreet bc it's 'cheap'.

So I calculated the difference between the revenue of parking vs what it is worth assuming a conservative $30/week.

The long and short of it - cheap resident parking costs the Wellington Council at least $11m a year.

That's $11m that, if better captured, could be put towards helping rebuild the library, better busses or even lowering rates in those areas.

And again, $11m is conservative.

We are constrained in our ability to put costs up by the Local Government Act 2002, which states that councils can only do 'cost recovery' for parking.

But this *is* a cost: opportunity cost.

We subsidise our often richest residents with cheap parking.

For reference, in Mt Vic, the $3.1m a year they currently lose out on due to cheap resident parking equates to $1500 for every household in the area.

Average rates in Wellington are $2754 (higher there though - it's a boujie spot).

It is material.

I think it's unfair that it's so cheap.

I recommended to them that they recalibrate how they think about the 'cost' of this parking.

Parking is a contentious issue, but our transport system is dependent on cars because we've made them so cheap. Let's start by fixing parking.

Cr Rush said that renters would be harder hit with more of them per flat.

They also live near the city and can bus/Mevo/ebike. Parking is just one of the considerations, and most tenancies are <12 months.

Or as @IslaStewart suggested use the money to make the busses better ;)

All of which is to say that I support the moves outlined in the policy today, even if I think they should go further.

I highly commend @DrJennyCondie for her leadership here. It's a tough gig!

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