Off-street parking

Off-street parking in central Hamilton is a mix of free, time-limited parking and metered parking via ‘pay and display’. A limited number of mobility parking spaces are also available off-street.

Customers visiting our Garden Place offices in the central city can also park for a short time for free in the Council car park on Anglesea Street behind the main building.
Council’s paid parking (all on-street and some off-street) is free on Sundays and public holidays.

Get guidelines about freedom camping in Hamilton.

Council’s off-street parking

Off-street paid parking facilities offered by us are:

• The Garden Place underground car park off Anglesea Street
• Parking behind the Waikato Museum
• Parking behind the Meteor Theatre
• At Founders Theatre.

Paid parking in these areas applies only during the hours noted on signage at these locations – outside of these hours, parking is free.

If you are using one of our off-street car parking facilities, you will need to either pay for your parking upfront and display a ticket on your dashboard or collect a ticket on your way in and pay when you leave. Use cash or your debit/credit card for these machines. In some cases, you can use the Pay My Park app.

Off-street all-day and casual paid parking is available at our Sonning Street car park on the east side of the Waikato River, Claudelands. There are also some streets where all-day paid parking is available.

Download the Pay My Park app

Commercial off-street car parking facilities

Paid parking in the central city is also provided off-street by shopping complexes in the central city and some independent parking buildings and spaces. These include:

• Knox Street car park building
• The Warehouse car park
• Parking above Centre Place shopping mall (entrance off Bryce Street)
• Various Wilson-operated car parking areas in and around the central city.

These are privately managed and any tickets issued at these facilities are not issued by Hamilton City Council.

Free off-street parking is provided by a wide range of businesses in the central city if you are using that business’s services.

Here’s a list of parking-related fees for Council-operated car parks.

Central Government is increasing the parking infringement and towage fees across New Zealand from 1 October 2024. 

It's important every driver understands the Government's changes and continues to follow the parking rules to avoid any fine.

Click to read the Government's announcement. 

Click for a list of fee increases.

For more information on where you cannot park, visit NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA)