“During that time, I’ve watched the town steadily decline.
“The CBD continues to suffer setback after setback.”
The hourly rate for parking was not the main problem. The time limit and fine for breaching it were “keeping people away from town”.
She said an hour was not long enough to have a leisurely look around the shops and maybe a coffee and cake.
“It’s certainly not long enough to have a colour and cut, for instance.”
She said clients, especially the elderly on a fixed income, were always worrying about being fined and quite often “me or one of the staff will be running out to put more money in the meter”.
She believed the council needed to stop “charging people to come to town” and it needed to “give the CBD a break”.
The salon aimed to be in its new premises by Christmas.
Hastings District Council said parking in its busiest areas was subject to time limits and fees, with costs based on how close the parking was to the shopping area.
“The revenue from parking infringement fees is reinvested into the city and goes toward improving public services such as maintaining parking infrastructure, enhancing city transportation options, and supporting local development projects.”
It cited examples such as changes to bus stop locations, electric vehicle charging station spaces and pedestrian laneways.
Ongoing investment in street upgrades, infrastructure and events was helping create a more vibrant city centre to help encourage people to work, shop and socialise there.
The council said parking officers patrolled meters, time zones and other traffic violations to ensure safety and parking turnover, and to make it fair for all users.
Parking limits were designed to keep spaces available so shoppers could find a park and businesses had more customers.
“Parking time limits and fees also prevent people parking in one spot all day.”
At its June meeting, the council received a report on a petition for free parking for residents over 65 in Hastings CBD.
The petition was first presented to the council in November 2024 by Grey Power.
However, the council deferred a decision so officers could bring more information to a later meeting.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.