Wintec’s student parking causing headaches

City campus Wintec students are frustrated with the cost and lack of space for student parking, but staff say this cannot be helped.

The fees for the car park are 60 cents for an hour and a maximum of $5 for a full day, which students say is too much.

Leighton Clarke, a first year architectural technology student, said: “The cost is a lot per year, considering some of us spend longer than eight hours a day at tech.”

Peter Murray, the security team leader at Wintec, said the parking is“as cheap as we can get”, in order to cover the costs of leasing from Tainui and maintenance.

“It’s not a money making venture,” said Mr Murray, who said that Wintec takes none of the money from the carparking as income.

Students also say they have a problem with finding a reasonable place to park.

“It’s a real hassle to park,” said Daniel Bunn, a first year computing student: “It’s always a super tight fit. You have to be sure you’re not going to hit anything… we need another one.”

“Being in the CBD we’ve got to utilise every metre that we can,” said Mr Murray.

It is expected that in the next five  years, buildings on Nisbet Street will be pulled down to make room for more student parking.