Tauranga City Council is dropping parking prices in the central city parking zone from $3 to $2 per hour from Monday, September 23.

The change, announced this evening, follows complaints from business owners in the CBD that the $3 hourly fee is driving people out of the city, says Tauranga City Council transportation manager Martin Parkes.

The $3 blue zone will be changed into an extended $2 green zone on September 23.

The $3 fee applies largely to Grey Street and Devonport Road from Elizabeth Street to The Strand. Feedback from Tauranga Mainstreet board members shows $3 is 'a little harsh” on shoppers' pockets, and hurting some of the businesses, says Martin.

'So we've listened to those comments, adjusted the price to take account of those comments, and we will be monitoring the situation very closely from here on in to see how it performs with the slightly reduced fee.”

The CBD's new parking zones were introduced on July 1 – with three separate zones (costing $1 for the yellow zone, $2 for the green zone, or $3 for the blue zone).

Martin says the two other parking zones will remain unchanged. There will now be one extended $2 per hour green zone and a peripheral $1 per hour yellow zone.

He says the idea charge $3 was to try and create a turnover in vehicles using the core spaces. 'The beauty to this system is it is very flexible, we can change fees in reaction to what's happening in the market.”

The new regime of zoned fees and charges was approved under the City Council's Annual Plan, which gives the transportation manager authority to raise or lower parking fees up to 50 per cent as required.

Martin says in general terms TCC is happy with the new system, which also saw the requirement to move out of an area when the time limit is been reached removed and parking charges on Saturdays for on-street parking returned.

'There's very positive feedback about the removal of time limits. Everybody seems to be happy they are in control of the time they can stay on the street. So that's a really positive thing.

'If the economy is down and people are put off coming into town then we will react to the market and adjust the fees accordingly. If demand is too high and there are no spaces available then we will have to reconsider our position going forward. It's all about supply and demand.”