Parking concerns due to fees at hotspots

The White Horse Hill carpark in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Photo: Doc

By Russell Palmer of RNZ

Several groups are worried car parking fees at major hotspots will see tourists parking on the roadside, documents show.

Fees of $5 an hour began at car parks in Aoraki-Mount Cook, Punakaiki-Pancake Rocks and Franz Josef/Wairau yesterday in a pilot scheme to help pay for upkeep.

The carpark fees pilot programme at the White Horse Hill carpark at Aoraki Mt Cook in Canterbury, and the West Coast's Dolomite Point carpark at Punakaiki and Glacier Valley at Franz Josef, lasts until June 2026.

Daily fees are $25 at Aoraki and $20 for Franz Josef and Punakaiki. Tourism operators with a concession will be exempt, and locals will be able to apply for a $10 annual pass.

Cars are detected by camera entering and exiting the car parks, with a separate company - Stellar - contracted to install the cameras and enforce debt collection for those caught not paying.

Documents released under the Official Information Act showed concerns raised by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), police, Heritage NZ, and the NZ Alpine Club about people potentially parking off-road or on the state highways to avoid fees.

They feared off-road or state-highway parkers could could be a safety issue, impact archaeological sites and increase roadside rubbish.

A carpark at Franz Josef Glacier. Photo: Doc

The Department of Conservation (Doc) was aware such behaviour could be a risk, with a Cabinet paper by the department highlighting as early as August 2024 that carparking charges could incentivise "undesirable behaviour such as parking on the road verge (with associated compliance costs) or pushing visitors towards more remote areas unsuitable for their experience level".

A summary of consultation with stakeholders from August showed the NZTA asked for more information on how impacts on the state highways around Punakaiki and Franz Josef would be managed if the trial led people to park on the state highway instead, and any safety issues that may cause.

"Please note, NZTA do not undertake parking enforcement, and where this pilot results in an unsafe situation on the state highway, the Department of Conservation will be responsible for undertaking all actions required to make safe."

NZTA said it expected the trial would be modified or suspended if it led to unsafe conditions. Doc's response was that "parking behaviour will be monitored as part of the parking pilot".

In feedback collated in November, the NZTA thanked Doc for additional information but said safety concerns remained relating to people parking on the state highway, "particularly in unsafe locations, and not necessarily limited to the recently removed parking opposite the visitors centre".

Police also were concerned about tourists and hikers parking "on the already slim side of road in area to avoid payment" at Punakaiki, and questioned whether police, ambulance, and search and rescue would have access to the area for emergency responses.

Again, Doc said it would monitor parking behaviour, saying emergency services would always have access.

Heritage NZ said paid carparking at Aoraki/Mt Cook was "likely to result in visitors exploring alternative carparking options off road or in any surrounding areas" and asked for potential effects on archaeological features to be assessed.

Doc responded that an archaeological assessment had been completed.

The Alpine Club feared paid parking at Mt Cook could lead to more people walking on the road or biking, which could be dangerous and increase the amount of roadside rubbish.

"Doc is aware of the current concerns," the department's response to the club said, "and the project design team is investigating potential paid parking traffic impacts and designing mitigations to best manage impacts and safety.

"Traffic and pedestrian behaviour will be monitored as part of the pilot and adjustments will be made as needed."

Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board also warned "displacement effects" needed to be considered and asked if there were plans to expand the carpark.

"We note that the objectives of the pilot include improving 'customer experience' and 'financial returns' but not preserving scenery and the park's natural state," the board said in further feedback collated in November.

"Car-parking should be banned on the access road."

Doc said it would monitor parking behaviour, and temporary traffic management would be in place on Hooker Valley and Tasman Valley roads, and the state highway.

The car parking fees were part of efforts to help Doc pay for maintaining its assets, including the carparks as well as huts, tracks, and parks.

A status report from November last year estimated total revenue from the pilot scheme of about $3.2 million across the three sites, with the biggest share - $1.5m - coming from Aoraki/Mt Cook, followed by $1.1m at Punakaiki.

While Doc charges for use of some huts and the Great Walks, this brought in just $20m in 2022/23, compared with taxpayer funding providing a further $192m for recreation and maintenance in 2023/24.

"Based on current government funding and forecast revenue, our visitor network is not financially sustainable in the long term," a Cabinet paper warned.

The department has faced budget and job cuts in recent years and faces a 30% shortfall on funding for huts and tracks.

A briefing to the Conservation Minister in May 2024 noted New Zealand was ranked 30th out of 33 OECD countries for environmental tax revenue as a share of total tax revenue.

"Over 80 percent of that revenue comes from fuel tax, road user charges, and vehicle registration fees and the majority of revenue goes to the National Land Transport Fund."

RNZ has sought further comment from Doc.