Concern over mobility parks

More mobility carparks are being marked in central Whangarei but not without concern the spaces are occupying high-demand carparks.

The Northland branch of the Post Polio Support Society asked the Whangarei District Council for more mobility parks near the new Central Library.

Currently there are two beside the library, two at the entrance to Forum North and two by the arcade entrance.

Council staff suggested two mobility parks could replace the current 30-minute parks outside Forum North.

But at the works and services committee on Wednesday, chairman Phil Halse said those carparks are important for people popping in to pay their rates.

"I think we’ve got a good amount of disabled carparks. We’ve got to be able to give our public access to the front door," he said.

The council was also asked to put mobility parks in Clyde St, Hunt St, Rust Ave and Commins Rd in Onerahi, plus loading zones in Clyde St and Hunt St.

Councillor Sheryl Mai also expressed concern about increasing the number of mobility parks because it would reduce the number of ordinary carparks.

"While I have huge support for people needing accessible carparking I feel we need to err on the side of caution," she said.

She was also concerned about a loading zone in Hunt St for a childcare centre, which she believed would only be used in the mornings and evenings.

But mayor Stan Semenoff said while he did not agree with all the proposals, staff had done their best.

"If I was going to be pushing my view we’re not going to get anywhere. Maybe we can review in 12 months’ time," he said.

However, deputy mayor Kahu Sutherland agreed with Ms Mai, saying there had been a lot of emphasis on mobility carparks.

"While I don’t disagree with that happening, I have a problem with disability carparks being available for 99.9 percent of the time when we have a premium on parks."

The committee agreed on the new mobility parks and loading zones but reduced the extra mobility parks outside Forum North from two to one.

The committee also agreed to move the mobility parks in Onerahi Carpark closer to the shops and changed six 20-minute parks outside the Old Library on Rust Ave to 120 minutes, with a no stopping area to improve visibility.

- © Fairfax NZ News