Free parking returns to Tauranga's CBD on Saturdays this weekend, yet some businesses believe more changes are still needed to bump up numbers in downtown.

At Tauranga City Council's on Monday, May29, meeting the decision was made to return free parking in the CBD on Saturdays and after 5pm on weekdays.

The changes kick in from tomorrow, Saturday, June 3, and was decided after CBD businesses reported paid parking was affecting the number of downtown visitors.

Paid parking was initially re-introduced in December 2022 to prevent city workers using parks all day and to encourage customer turnover.

During Monday's council meeting Commission Chair Anne Tolley stated: 'While it's an exciting time for the city centre as it undergoes a once-in-a-generation transformation, there will be challenges along the way – like parking – so it's important council remains nimble and can provide solutions that support visitors, workers and businesses in the city centre during this time”.

Customers complain

So how do downtown business feel about the move? The Med Cafe's manager Ashleigh Cormwell says it's been detrimental for business having extended paid parking. 'I would really love to see accessibility to parking in the CBD be returned because that would be really beneficial.”

Ashleigh says the café has had a lot of complaints from customers about the CBD parking situation. 'A lot of people even say they won't return because of parking, which is really sad to hear you know.”

She thinks the recent changes to parking is 'wonderful” but believes more needs to happen. 'For business I would love more changes to be done in terms of free parking and accessible parking.” With parking free in places like Mount Maunganui's Main Street, Fraser Cove and Bayfair, Ashleigh says it's hard to compete. 'I understand the need of paid parking but I also think if we're trying to encourage people to be here and to liven up the CBD, this isn't the way to go about it – at least not yet.”

Destination store

Businesses like Grey St craft store Purple Patch have had similar customer frustrations with the CBD parking. 'I've had very, very upset people in the shop about parking – especially the older ones that just find the whole parking metre thing very hard to use,” says store secretary Beth French. 'A lot of them don't have paywave.”

She hopes the free Saturday parking will help the store, but is also content with the parking being a niche business. 'We're very much a destination shop, and I think people have decided they're coming in here and find a park. We don't have a lot of people that come in as foot traffic.”

Past parking

Hearing of council's decision, Bond & Co menswear store owner Jason Dovey says commencing parking changes are a 'positive”. 'I mean free parking always helps.”

Yet he would prefer the parking situation was as it was prior to last December. 'I wish [the parking] was still free for the first two hours during the week…it was a good incentive when that was free as well. We should be trying to make it a bit more user-friendly to entice people.

'They [TCC] should've just left it until the rebuild of the city is finished and then revaluate it, you know what I mean. It's pretty hard on people at the moment with the state of the way things are in the city and charging people when it's not really that convenient or great.”