Debate | Issue 5 | Music

Mobility Parking Sparks Anxiety and Confusion on Campus AUT disputes that students need to

“What happened this year is that one day

apply to use mobility parking, with the

they just put a note on my car saying

Students with mobility parking permits

university initially telling Debate that

that I wasn’t allowed to park there

are being challenged attempting to access accessible parking spaces on campus, student reps say.

registration is not required to park at any

anymore or otherwise I would get towed.

A recent change has meant that students with permits must also submit an application before receiving authorisation to park in accessible parking spaces, according to the reps.

Transport or any other AUT department

By Justin Hu (he/him)

The issue was brought up by the south campus, disability affairs and Te Ara Poutama representatives on AUTSA’s student representative council at April’s SRC meeting. Focusing primarily on apparent problems at AUT’s south campus, the issue was tabled in a pre-reading at April’s student representative council meeting.

mobility parking spaces. “There is no requirement to register with to use mobility spaces, a valid CCS permit and payment either at the local meter or UbiPark app is all you need,” the university said in a statement. The university said it was also unaware of any change to parking at south campus. However, at the meeting, SRC reps tabled a copy of an application form with the title “2021 Application For Accessible Parking.” The AUT-branded form requests information about the day of the week in which the spot is needed, whether the student uses a wheelchair, their ability to

At the meeting, the then Te Ara Poutama representative Tasha Tahā Henneker said that the primary issue had been the confusion caused to students.

drive and their vehicle's mobility permit

“The problem is that it’s not clear to students at all that this has been happening. There’s no signage anywhere to tell the students and it’s concerning because they were initially told they were allowed to park there.”

day that you're not listed on? They can't,”

South campus students were originally told that mobility parking spaces were reserved as staff parking and that students should use regular car parks, the reps said.

information by the publication deadline.

number. “You’ll see there’s a form they have to fill out. What if you have to come in on a Henneker continued. In a follow-up, the university said the form tabled by the reps was “old” and “no longer in use.” The university has not responded to Debate’s request for further

“So I made contact with disability services. Disability doesn’t know what’s happening, the parking people aren’t being clear. It’s just nobody knows what’s going on.” Reps also cited an anecdotal account of one student who had apparently waited three weeks for a response from the university for a mobility parking space. An AUT spokesperson, however, disputed the claim in a statement saying instead that everything is fine. “According to our internal monitoring of response times by the Transport Team, the average first reply time is within 1.36 hours and 98% of requests are responded to within 24 hours.” “Our current provision allows for more spaces than we are required to provide. Mobility spaces are generally closer to areas where users need to be, and offer larger space for those requiring mobility aids and/or wheelchairs to get in and out of their vehicles safely,” the university said. The SRC voted to level the issues with

Disability affairs officer Margaret Fowlie

the university’s disability services and

said that she had personally experienced

AUT’s Estates division, who manage

issues with parking on campus.

the university’s transport services. 

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