The Parking Problem

At its last meeting, the Nelson City Council had a quick look at Nelson's parking problems and decided to implement the recommendations contained in a report from the city engineer (Mr Geoff Toynbee.). With most of these decisions we concur completely, but we find in one instance that one decision of the council will completely negate another. Miller's Acre has become a parking lot for workers' cars and these occupy, almost exclusively, all the spaces, all day. The council has decided that as an experiment, and to provide some short-term parking spaces, the first four bays (from the west) are to be limited to two-hour parking. With this we have no quarrel. Workers who wish to find all-day parking can drive a couple of hundred yards over the bridge and park in the area behind Trafalgar Park (bottom right), an area completely unused mid-week. But up the other end of the city, on the Bett area at Nile Street, in Collingwood Street (alongside Master Dry Cleaners' building) and in New Street (at the back of Kirbys), the council intends to take this parking space from the public and offer it for weekly rental at $1 a space. The reasoning behind this decision is, that these areas, also, are used exclusively for all-day parking and they are not fulfilling the purpose for which they were designed. This is true, but surely the council can control parking on these areas the same as they intend to do at Miller's Acre. Restricted parking on these areas is surely the answer. If they have to be policed, then the provision of a motor scooter for the parking attendant would undoubtedly overcome the time factor. Above are the four bays at Miller's acre to be restricted and below that pic is the Bett area and below that the New Street area.

Street Signs at Richmond