11 September 2019
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Inner city parking
Enquiry
I've been speaking with a council candidate who has decided to reveal their parking policy if elected. As part of that they have supplied me with the attached document from a council meeting which was apparently in public excluded. Within that (page 5) it says Harding Traffic would include as part of their service "77-80 touch screen parking terminals in the CBD ... capable of accepting all payment options from coin to mobile parking apps." The candidate reads this as: All parking terminals will offer all payment options and therefore the Harding Traffic Ltd has not offered this feature and the council has let them get away with delivering less than they said they would. I'm firstly trying to assess whether I do a story and if I do I'll likely send you further questions but initially I was wondering if you could answer one: Was it promised that all iPark machines would accept all payment types? If so, why is that not the case? If not, when did the wording of the above change to reflect the machine format seen around town? |
Response
The following information and comment was provided and the reporter indicated they would come back with further questions:
The document you've sent through is a report that went to the Strategy, Policy, and Finance Committee to present the rationale for a change in the Council's Parking Services and to recommend a preferred service provider to partner with Council in the management of parking services in Rotorua. The report includes a synopsis of Harding Traffic Ltd's proposal to Council, it does not include detail of the final contract. This report is available to the public on request.
The following can be attributed to Council's Operations Group Manager Henry Weston:
During the contract negotiation process, a decision was made to make coin payment available in half of the machines. This decision recognised that coin payment facilities would still be useful to some sectors of the community, but also acknowledged the wider trend of parking systems worldwide moving away from coin payment options and the associated management costs as communities gradually move towards cashless payment options. Having all machines with coin capability would have led to a significant increase in the cost of the contract.
The parking payment app is currently in the testing phase and should be available to users in Rotorua in the next couple of months.
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Media: RotoruaNow (SunLive)
Topic: Soundshell removal
Enquiry
The reporter noted that work to remove the Soundshell was now visible from the outside and asked for a general update, including about asbestos removal inside the building.
Response
From Rob Pitkethley - Sport, Recreation & Environment Manager:
Machinery is now on site removing the north and south wings of the Soundshell building.
Both wings are now clear of Class A asbestos. The central auditorium however may still contain trace levels of asbestos meaning all materials will need to be treated prior to removal. This section of the building will be removed last.
Council's contractors will be using a number of methods to remove the building structure including using diggers and nibblers' for the side wings - those machines are on site now. This will then be followed by knuckle-booms' and scissor-lifts to remove the aluminium sheeting of the auditorium. Once the structure is down to its lower level, the large machinery will return to site to finish the removal.
Class A asbestos removal is a WorkSafe notifiable activity and Council has worked in partnership with WorkSafe to ensure the success of this project.
Safety of the public, staff and contractors has always been Council's number one priority during this project. The age and nature of the building has meant that this removal process has been significantly more complex, and has required a number of agencies to be involved to ensure the safe removal in line with relevant guidelines and legislation.
Independent asbestos assessors have monitored the site since the project began and will continue to monitor the removal as the structures are removed and cleared from the site.
All going well the removal of the three structures, the auditorium and the north and south wings, will take approximately three weeks. However, ensuring the safe removal of the remaining material will determine the final date of completion.
