Fees, charges and parking durations

Here’s a list of parking-related fees (including info on parking fines), and information on how long you can park in Council-operated car parks.

Off-street car park facilities
Founders Theatre Car Park
60 spaces, pay and display. Machine closed 5pm.
Per hour $1.00
Weekday max $4.00
Meteor Theatre Car Park
62 spaces, pay and display. Machine closed 5pm.
Per hour $1.00
All day rate $4.00
Museum Car Park
62 spaces, pay and display. Machine closed 5pm.
Up to 1 hour $1.00
3 hours maximum $3.00
Sonning Car Park
307 spaces, pay on exit/entry, open 7am - 5pm.
Flat rate all day fee $5.00
Garden Place Car Park Building
460 spaces, pay on exit/entry, open 6am - 10:30pm.
Casual Rate
Casual Rate Up to 1 hour Free
Casual Rate 1-2 hours $4.00
Casual Rate 2-3 hours $6.00
Casual Rate 3-4 hours $8.00
Casual Rate Over 4 hours $12.00
Weekend Rate
Weekend Rate Up to 1 hour Free
Weekend Rate 1-2 hours $4.00
Weekend Rate More than 2 hours $5.00

Parking off the street

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.

Related pages

On-street parking

Get information on where to park in central Hamilton.

Pay a parking ticket

Pay parking tickets and fines, and enquire about or appeal a ticket issue.

Share this page

Feedback

Has this page been helpful?
Thanks for your feedback.

Last updated 24 August 2023