Frank Kitts Park car park

We’ve reopened the car park following a reassessment of seismic risk that shows it can be used for public parking.

Entrance to Frank Kitts car park. — Frank Kitts car park, Jervois Quay.

About the project

The waterfront car park near Frank Kitts Park has now reopened.

The car park provides 97 all-day parking spaces, including two mobility parks and 17 reserved parks, for vehicles under 2.2 metres. While no motorcycle parking is available, there is a motorcycle park near Wellington Museum.

Revenue from the parking spaces will help offset the loss of Council revenue as on-street car parks are removed from parts of the CBD to facilitate greater active and public transport options.

Parking fees will be the same as other Council-operated waterfront car parks that provide all day parking, and free on public holidays.

$5 per hour up to a maximum of $20 Monday to Friday.
$3 per hour up to a maximum of $12 on weekends.
Opening hours are from 6am to 8pm on weekdays, and 8am to 8pm on weekends and public holidays. Gates will close daily at 8pm and no re-entry will be allowed.
No overnight parking, markets or events.

Although the car park can be used for parking in the short-term, the building is still earthquake prone and will be demolished when the wider park area is redeveloped in the future.

Background

In early 2020 the public car park was closed as a precautionary measure, following an engineering assessment that identified the building as earthquake-prone.

The new ORA assessment allowed Council to reconsider the risk to the public more comprehensively and make a risk-based decision about occupying the car park given its low seismic rating under the New Building Standard (NBS).

Compared to most business-as-usual risks, earthquakes are low probability. While a low NBS rating does indicate a heightened life safety risk in the event of an earthquake, it doesn't mean a building is imminently dangerous.

The decision to reopen the car park was made during the 2024 – 2034 Long-term Plan process. The Council has taken a similar approach for some of its other buildings including the Michael Fowler Centre and the Opera House.

Getting the car park back up to speed cost around $30,000 which will be recouped through parking fees, with no additional cost to ratepayers.