The Parking Strategy for the Garden City, a draft of which was released for public consultation last year, looks at some of the key issues surrounding parking, in particular the fact that Christchurch faces a parking crisis in the future as population and vehicle numbers in the city continue to increase. Demand for parking is now being experienced across the city including on inner-city streets, around shopping centres, outside educational centres and at sports grounds.

Christchurch City Council transport planner Heather Wallis says that these issues won't resolve themselves. "They'll get worse, and most likely at the expense of our city's greenspace.

"Parking is everybody's issue because almost every journey we make ends with the need to park. "The strategy investigates and recommends policy and implementation methods covering all aspects of parking, including public and private, in the inner city, on arterial roads, business areas, residential areas, recreation, culture and leisure, educational institutions and rural areas."

She says the Council's vision is to provide and manage parking in Christchurch that meets the needs of the community, protects the environment, suppor ts economic growth and complements the over-all transport system.

This will require many measures to be taken over a period of years. Some of these are already in place, such as parking meters, time limits and onsite development requirements. There will also be new measures to affect the provision and management of parking.

For more information or for a copy of the Parking Strategy, please call Heather Wallis, City Development Group, on 941 8292, or email ParkingStrategy@ccc.govt.nz

The strategy is also available on-line at www.ccc.govt.nz/ ParkingStrategy