How much money has been needlessly pumped into Tauranga CBD parking meters by confused motorists – motorists who are unclear about what they need to pay for parking, where and when?

Is it hundreds of dollars? Thousands? Perhaps tens of thousands?

‘Heure D'arrivee' – Gabrielle and Ray Gregory with the motorists' friend they use in a French town. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

'I'm not certain it's a problem or if it can be sized,” ponders Tauranga City Councillor John Robson.

But it was a problem for John Duffill.

'I was a bit annoyed,” says John, who pumped $6 into parking meter number 4452 when $4 would have been enough. He was either misled or he misunderstood – and he's not alone.

Because it was also a problem for several other city car parkers who contacted The Weekend Sun after unwittingly making ‘donations' to city coffers.

Like Strelsa Gribben, who paid for two hours parking 'and got just one hour and three minutes”.

'No wonder no one wants to go into the city centre,” she says. 'We are not made of money.”

Strelsa, like John, was drawn to the parking charges in big bold print on the front of the meter – but not the fine detail on the small display screen, which would have told them parking was free from 3pm Monday-Friday and 1pm on Saturdays.

'Free after three,” as the TCC song goes.

'If that's the case why didn't 4452 spit out the excess money?” she asks. 'The meters at the airport block payment if it's not due.”

And there's the case of Sheryl Ruscoe, who inadvertently ‘gave' to TCC while in a hurry.

'I put $2 in the meter at 2.59pm last Friday,” says Sheryl. 'When I got back to the car I saw the ticket expired at 3pm”.

Of course that's when ‘free after three' kicks in, but the meter gratefully accepted her money anyway.

'So $2 for one minute of parking. What a joke!”

It's more that Sheryl, Strelsa and John didn't need to pay. There was confusion and they didn't get their money back.

'The good thing is,” says Cr Robson 'none of them were threatened with an infringement notice”.

What isn't good is they were confused into making a contribution to TCC.

So what's the scale of the problem? How many other motorists have blindly and needlessly paid parking charges to the TCC and how much?

Cr John Robson dials up the Town Hall for some answers.

He comes back with 'it's not easy to tell”.

'The only observation is 1pm parking has been in for a long time and it hasn't presented as a problem,” says Cr Robson.

'A lot of people do a lot of parking in this town and no one's complained.”

And he explains they could spend money to find out there isn't a problem. 'You would struggle to justify that,” he says.

This TCC administration has the unenviable task of examining parking in the CBD and coming up with an affordable, acceptable and workable plan.

'One that's easily communicated and understood,” says Cr Robson.

And one which would eliminate problems like those experienced by John and others.

'We can't make assumptions about understanding – communicability is definitely a consideration,” says Cr Robson.

He says there are lots of simple questions about parking in the CBD but no simple answers. According to Cr Robson: 'No city in the world has cracked its parking problems yet.”

Except maybe – just maybe – in Divonne-les-Bains – a small French spa town on the Swiss border.

That's where Gabrielle and Ray Gregory of Omokoroa spend six months of the year. It's also where they use a little blue disc declaring ‘heure d'arrive' – time of arrival.

'Set the disc to the time you park, display it on the dashboard and you get one-and-a-half hours free parking. Free!,” says Gabrielle.

'When your time's up the wardens start circling. That's if the retailer and other motorists haven't reported you first.”

Gabrielle says it's in everyone's interests to keep the carparks turning over; it's free and it makes for a vibrant, exciting and progressive CBD which would please everyone.

'It would also remove the confusion over where, when and what you pay, which makes parking in Tauranga impossible – which is what I experience every time I come home to the Bay.”

Cr Robson is interested 'if it's reasonable and legal” – he appreciates good ideas and positive input.

However, there is always a ‘however' just as there is no such thing as free parking because free parking would take a chunk out of the council's revenue stream which has to be recovered .

'The question is who pays?” says Cr Robson, 'and we have to figure out how we pay for what we want.”

There is a lot more talking to be done about Tauranga's parking issues.