City of Ballarat’s new proposal, to be considered at a special council meeting on May 31, would include three new paid parking zones, stretching from Macarthur Street in the north to Urquhart Street in the south. 

Auckland, a city of more than 1.5 million residents, similar implemented zoned parking in May 2015, with prices between $NZD1 (92 cents) and $NZD8 ($7.35) per hour. Each park is also free for the first 10 minutes, as with Ballarat’s proposal. 

The key difference between Ballarat’s plan and Auckland’s current strategy is areas in Auckland become significantly more expensive if you choose to park there for more than two hours. 

View the Ballarat plan here.

When adopted in 2015, Auckland also rolled out parking zones in suburbs where commuters were driving in and then walking, or taking public transport. 

Auckland Transport spokesperson Mark Hannan said the model “manages the turnover through pricing”. 

View the Auckland plan here.

“Initially there was some opposition but that quickly disappeared when local residents and businesses discovered parking was now available in their street for visitors and customers,” he said. 

“Typically in these zones you get two hours parking which encourages visitors and customers but discourages all-day parking.The all-day parkers have either found other options or moved further out.”

Auckland Transport received more than 5,500 public submissions. 

City of Ballarat director of environment and infrastructure Terry Demeo said the need for a more complex parking system in Ballarat was driven by the CBD “growing beyond the restricted area”. 

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