{"id":392689,"date":"2026-04-22T21:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/392689\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T21:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:00:19","slug":"whangarei-stores-report-covid-level-slump-because-of-t2-lane-parking-fines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/392689\/","title":{"rendered":"Whang\u0101rei stores report Covid-level slump because of T2 lane parking fines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teresa McInerney from Villa Hairdressing said the biggest frustration was the T2 lane on Bank St wasn\u2019t used because there was little morning congestion<\/a> and the lane was too narrow for buses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fit for purpose,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While Villa Hairdressing had only a few customers fined for parking before 9am appointments, McInerney said the rules were confusing throughout the day.<\/p>\n

She also wanted more two and three-hour parking on Bank St after 9am so customers could have a full colour treatment without worrying about fines.<\/p>\n

Essence Cafe owner Paul Rinton estimated losing $30,000 a year from lost morning trade but said the impact was felt all day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"PaulPaul Rinton says an empty Essence Cafe is now the new normal because of the changes on Bank St. Photo \/ Denise Piper<\/p>\n

While the council installed extra car parks on Aubrey St, they were poorly enforced and the street entrance was closed for six weeks because of a water pipe renewal.<\/p>\n

Rinton said trade at his cafe<\/a> had dropped to Covid levels.<\/p>\n

A three-car parking bay outside Bank St Barbers and Bank St Foodmart was exempt from T2 lane rules after feedback from the businesses.<\/p>\n

But Dave Lenihan from Bank St Barbers said that only caused more confusion for motorists<\/a>, who assumed the parking exemption continued down the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest gripe is the $100 fines, it\u2019s now led to a downturn in trade,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"DaveDave Lenihan from Bank St Barbers says an exemption outside his store has made it more confusing for motorists trying to park elsewhere. Photo \/ Denise Piper<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the next bay down where they get caught: the signs say \u201860 minutes\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The observations were supported by evidence, with a business case finding routes such as Kiripaka Rd had a greater cost-benefit ratio for T2 lanes than Bank St.<\/p>\n

A February report to the Whang\u0101rei Passenger Transport Working Group, run jointly by Whang\u0101rei district and Northland regional councils, found no improvement in bus running times with the T2 lanes.<\/p>\n

This was likely because of the five additional pedestrian crossing lights installed along the route to ensure pedestrian safety.<\/p>\n

Jim Sephton, Whang\u0101rei District Council general manager for transport and community infrastructure, said there were no plans for major changes to the T2 lanes.<\/p>\n

\"TeresaTeresa McInerney has owned Villa Hairdressing for 18 years and says the council needs to support small businesses. Photo \/ Denise Piper<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know there are teething issues, which is to be expected when something is the first of its type in a region but we\u2019re seeing improved outcomes as people develop new habits in line with the new rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sephton acknowledged some Bank St businesses had unintended negative impacts and encouraged them to get in touch to discuss their concerns.<\/p>\n

He denied buses were avoiding the narrow T2 lane and said if there were places where it was consistently unsafe to use, bus drivers should report it to the council.<\/p>\n

With regards to the temporary closure of the Aubrey St entrance, Sephton thanked businesses and residents for their patience.<\/p>\n

The T2 lane did not change the 60-minute restriction on Bank St after 9am and there was longer parking nearby, he said.<\/p>\n

Sephton said the T2 lane was helping reduce congestion on Kamo Rd and more data on the lane\u2019s impact would be collected later this year.<\/p>\n

He believed the T2 lane would be important future infrastructure, influencing development north of the city<\/a>, such as more houses near bus stops, while costing less than a new road.<\/p>\n

Denise Piper is a news reporter<\/a> for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teresa McInerney from Villa Hairdressing said the biggest frustration was the T2 lane on Bank St wasn\u2019t used…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1643,17517,10166,2741,15414,202883,4381,12474,8987,42,20112,11556,43,1118,30205,1560,8603,653,202884,15454,8229,2742,40,38,41,39,202885,1869,57767],"class_list":["post-392689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-bank","tag-because","tag-businesses","tag-claim","tag-confusing","tag-covidlevel","tag-customers","tag-dollars","tag-fines","tag-headlines","tag-lane","tag-losing","tag-news","tag-of","tag-parking","tag-report","tag-slump","tag-stores","tag-t2","tag-tens","tag-they","tag-thousands","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-unusable","tag-whangrei","tag-whangreis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}