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The Art Deco capital goes Metro

1 minute
Jul 19, 2022

New Zealand’s ‘Art Deco capital’ has made a big step towards future-proofing their CBD.

Home to a population of 60,000, Napier has replaced over 500 old Pay-and-Display and ‘lollipop’ parking meters with around 123 MetroLite Touch Pay-by-Plate machines. The move ensures the council is ready to quickly adapt to changes facing the city.

Napier has a geographically-constrained CBD and parking spaces are always in high demand. That demand has eased a little since the COVID pandemic and a subsequent shift towards working from home. However, Rachael Bailey (Manager, Regulatory Solutions at Napier City Council) says her team is predicting pressure on parking will increase again. 

“Our new parking solution means we can accurately monitor occupancy rates, and adjust and remotely deploy tariffs in an agile way to respond to future trends.” 

Napier City Council undertook a joint procurement process with their sister city, Hastings City Council, to replace their old meters. Residents frequently travel between the two centres, so it made sense for the councils to offer them the same parking technology. 

“We went with GPS because they’re New Zealand-based and very responsive. They were able to maintain our existing meters while we made the switch, and they have excellent products. We also had good feedback from other councils who already work with them - they’re proven within the local government environment.” 

Some of Napier’s residents were hesitant to move from the coin-operated lollipop meters, so the council has put a lot of effort into preparing them for the new technology (watch a short educational video their team created here).

“We’ve retained coin payments, but now people can also choose card, ParkMate app or ParkEasy touch-free payment. We’re able to track the exact mix of payments, and we’re seeing that the uptake of alternative payment methods is strong and growing.”

Read more about Napier City Council’s parking solution here:

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