All-day free parking in central Auckland suburbs ending

The days of central Auckland fringe suburbs becoming free parking lots for commuters are coming to an end, with a new residential parking zone coming into force in Ponsonby and others planned for Grafton and Grey Lynn.

In the past month, the net of residential parking zones has been widened from St Marys Bay and Freemans Bay to include Ponsonby, where many properties are without off-street parking. Mt Eden has a residential parking zone between Mt Eden Rd and Dominion Rd at the city end of the suburb.

Auckland Transport is close to introducing a new residential parking zone in Parnell, consulting on a zone for Grafton and planning one for Grey Lynn – where a domino effect from Ponsonby is already having an impact on parking for residents.

Under the residential parking zone rules, free parking for commuters and shopping is limited to two hours on weekdays from 8am to 6pm. An annual permit or daily coupon for all-day parking are available to residents.

In Freemans Bay people were arriving at 6 in the morning and having breakfast in their cars to park all day for free

Many commuters drive from the outer suburbs to find parks within the one-stage bus or rail trip to the CBD.

Waitemata Local Board chairwoman Pippa Coom said Auckland was following the norm for international cities – “you don’t expect to park in the city centre and city fringe for free”.

The local board, she said, had been pushing for a rollout of residential parking zones since before the first scheme was introduced in St Marys Bay in 2012.

“In Freemans Bay people were arriving at 6 in the morning and having breakfast in their cars to park all day for free. There were endless complaints from people unable to park near their homes,” Coom said.

She said after initial concerns about the cost of residential parking – $70 a year for a permit – residents and businesses wouldn’t have it any other way. It had transformed how the streets worked.

Auckland Transport parking services manager John Strawbridge says city fringe residential streets are often overcrowded with commuters parking all day, leaving no room for residents and their visitors.

“In Grafton there are a number of older heritage houses with no off-street parking, and some residents struggle to find a park nearby,” he said.

The proposal covers on-street parking in a section of Grafton south of the Auckland City Hospital. It would replace existing restrictions with the exception of bus stops, loading zones, mobility and car share parking, “no stopping at all times” restrictions and the clearway on Grafton Rd.

The proposed charges are $1 per hour for the first two hours, and $2 per hour after this, from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. A residential parking zone would apply to some of the area, where there would be no time limit for how long motorists can park.

In the residential parking zone most residents would be able to apply for permits or coupons to exempt them from the on-street paid parking. Permits cost $70 per year, one-day coupons are $5, both are issued in order of priority to manage available parking.

A public open day to discuss the proposal will be held on Saturday July 15, 9am to 1pm, at the Domain Lodge Hall at 1 Boyle St, Grafton.

For more information on the proposal, including which properties are eligible for permits/coupons, go to: http://at.govt.nz/haveyoursay.

 

Source  : New Zealand Herald

Auckland now a buyers market – economist

Auckland has become a buyers market, says ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley.

Responding to data from Quotable Value and Barfoot & Thompson last week, Tuffley said it was clear that we now had an overhang of listings in the market.

The market had peaked about a year ago and had been steadily tracking down ever since, Tuffley said.

“What we have seen is just more homes sitting on the market and that number is now about 60 per cent higher than what it was a year ago so the demand and supply balance is certainly shifting with more properties available for viewing and giving buyers a lot more choice.”

It was still the case that in the big picture Auckland still did not have enough homes being built to meet its population growth, Tuffley said.

But at the sharp end of the market – people buying and selling and – there was a flood of regular listings coming onto the market with fewer sales being cleared.

“We’ve got this overhang in terms of listings so buyers also have that ability to pick and choose and take their time, it has swung to be a buyers market,” he said.

“That fear of missing out which sometimes drives people to aggressively bid up and try and jump on properties quickly, those dynamics have gone. But the background of the underlying shortfalls is certainly putting a floor under prices.”

QV’s June data for the Auckland market showed Papakura values fell 1.8 per cent; Waitakere 0.6 per cent; Manukau northwest, Franklin 0.1 per cent; and Auckland City east and Auckland City south fell 0.5 per cent.

Year-on-year growth for the Auckland region was flat while New Zealand-wide growth had slowed to 8.1 per cent.

Figures from Auckland’s largest real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson were even more downbeat showing the average sales price in June dropped 3.1 per cent on the average for the previous three months, and was only 0.6 per cent higher than it was 12 months ago.

Looking out longer term, Tuffley said he expected Auckland prices to hold up and even increase further.

“The reality is we are not going to be catching up to the population growth for several years, in terms of the amount of building,” he said.

In the short term he said he expected to see a bit more downward price pressure or more people taking their homes off market, or fewer people putting homes on the market.

“A combination of those few factors will see it start to balance our over time but over the next few months it really looks like we’ll see it staying flat or pretty soggy on the price front.”

While buyer behaviour had changed, sellers had not yet adapted, Tuffley said. He expected to see them adjusting and being a bit more realistic with asking prices.

“Even thinking about whether they need to sell. “

On Wednesday the Real Estate institute of New Zealand (REINZ)
will release its figures for June.

 

Source  :  New Zealand Herald

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Odebrecht no podrá transferir las acciones del proyecto Olmos

Sábado 08 de julio del 2017 | 07:10

Luego de que el Poder Judicial declarara fundado el pedido de una orden de inhibición presentado por la procuradora ad hoc para el caso Lava Jato, Katherine Ampuero.

Empresa señala que no podrá vender el proyecto Olmos ni pagar la indemnización comprometida con el Estado peruano (USI)

La empresa Odebrecht difundió un comunicado en el que informa que no podrá transferir las acciones de las firmas Trasvase Olmos y H2Olmos, luego de que el Poder Judicial declarara fundado el pedido de una orden de inhibición presentado por la procuradora ad hoc para el caso Lava Jato, Katherine Ampuero.

Según Odebrecht, de esta manera no podrá vender el proyecto Olmos ni pagar la indemnización comprometida con el Estado peruano.

Para el ex fiscal supremo Avelino Guillén, lo que la constructora brasileña está intentando hacer con este anuncio es romper las negociaciones con el Estado peruano.

“Están anunciando que no quieren cumplir con las obligaciones que tienen producto de los delitos cometidos. Pretenden fijar los límites de una investigación que debe realizar el Ministerio Público de Perú con independencia”, expresó Guillén a Perú21.

 

Peru21

Congreso aprista eligió a Alan García como presidente del partido

Sábado 08 de julio del 2017 | 18:02

Grupo de delegados y candidatos a la secretaría general se retiraron del cónclave aduciendo serias irregularidades en el proceso.

Congreso Aprista eligió a Alan García como presidente del partido. (USI)

En su segundo día, el XXIV Congreso Nacional Aprista eligió al ex mandatario Alan García como presidente del partido. El evento se realiza con el fin de designar a los nuevos dirigentes de la organización política.

La votación a favor de García se efectuó por aclamación. Es decir, mediante la mano alzada de los delegados, quienes mostraron su credencial para el proceso. El Congreso aprista, sin embargo, no estuvo exento de cuestionamientos.

Por la mañana, un grupo de delegados y candidatos a la secretaría general se retiraron del cónclave aprista argumentando serias irregularidades en dinámica de las elecciones.

Uno de ellos, por ejemplo, fue el congresista Jorge Del Castillo, quien acusó a su colega Elías Rodríguez, postulante a la secretaría general, de influir en otros delegados a través del pago de su estadía en Lima.

“Aprobaron la votación a mano alzada, pero eso está prohibido. Además hemos descubierto que Elías Rodríguez le ha pagado todo a un montón de delegados; es decir, ha costeado su inscripción, pasaje y estadía. Eso afecta el principio de libertad de voto. Estamos viendo los mismos métodos de (César) Acuña”, manifestó Del Castillo a Perú21.

En respuesta, Elías Rodríguez indicó que las acusaciones de Del Castillo son falsas y que los delegados presentes en el Congreso tienen una “sed de renovación”.

 

“(Lo que dice Jorge Del Castillo) no corresponde a la verdad. Es falso. Los delegado que se encuentran aquí tienen ansias democráticas y sed de renovación. Hay suficiente quórum suficiente para el evento, existen ánforas secretas y contamos con la presencia de la Onpe”, indicó Rodríguez a este diario.

Jorge Del Castillo apuntó, además, que junto a él también se retiraron delegados como Luciana León, César Zumaeta y Carlos Roca. Este último sostuvo que en el Congreso aprista no se han respetado los plazos estipulados para las votaciones.

“Consideramos se debían que cumplir con los plazos. Hoy se debía hacer la reforma del estatuto y mañana la elección del secretario general. Por eso muchos compañeros no asistieron este sábado. Han aprovechado esa ausencia y precipitaron las elecciones para hoy”, expresó Roca a Perú21.

Agregó que hasta ayer él y César Zumaeta iban a ser candidatos a la secretaría general: Roca como secretario institucional y Zumaeta como secretario político. “Pero hoy más temprano nos hemos reunido y debido a las irregularidades, nos hemos retirado del Congreso”, anotó.

 

Peru21

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