Omokoroa resident Dan Hesson with children Lily, 8 and Spencer, 10 at the busy Omokoroa intersection. Photo / Chris Steel
Omokoroa resident Dan Hesson with children Lily, 8 and Spencer, 10 at the busy Omokoroa intersection. Photo / Chris Steel
Omokoroa Volunteer Fire Brigade has so far this year attended three motor vehicle accidents on State Highway 2 at intersections at Omokoroa Rd and Youngson Rd, 100m south.
The most recent was on May 10 involving two cars with occupants suffering status 2 and 3 injuries. At 7am peak traffic time vehicles were backed up for many kilometres.
Omokoroa Fire Chief Ian Blunt says in normal traffic circumstances cars are often banked up half a kilometre-plus on Omokoroa Rd waiting to enter onto SH2.
"Everybody knows that traffic between Katikati and Tauranga is always bedlam which gets worse at peak traffic hours."
He says when responding to callouts on SH2 and side roads brigade appliance drivers have adapted to cope with the traffic congestion and conditions to arrive at the scene of any incident safely, whether it's an MVA or fire.
"Because the roads are almost at saturation point some drivers become frustrated, impatient and aggressive, put others at risk and the accident rate rises.
"When you have traffic merging onto a state highway from a Stop sign into an 80km/h zone, it is not ideal."
Blunt agrees that a roundabout, even a temporary one, would slow traffic.
"Look what it did at Te Puna. It keeps flows going, slows traffic down and makes the intersection safer."
With Omokoroa likely to be home to 12,000 people by 2050, locals are rightly concerned about safety at the intersection.
Local resident Dan Hesson started an online petition last week calling for a roundabout at the Omokoroa Rd-SH2 intersection, which has gathered more than 1950 signatures.
Hesson started the petition after he had a close call recently at the busy intersection. He says feedback has been all positive so far.
Could a temporary roundabout, similar to this one on SH2 at Paeroa help ease traffic congestion at the Omokoroa Road intersection?
"We need to all band together as a community to put pressure on the powers that be to fast-track a solution to make our intersection safer, sooner rather than later, before there are more serious crashes."
Another local Phil Barrett agrees the intersection is dangerous ... "it's a multi-hazard area". Barrett says the risks are compounded by a lack of care and regard by some drivers to other drivers.
He says the real issue is the layout of the intersection and having to pull out into a stream of traffic travelling at 80km/h and cope with having to make a split decision is the main risk factor.
"A full-size roundabout such as the Te Puna one is the only way."
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has said there would be challenges with putting in a temporary roundabout.
Regional manager maintenance and operations Rob Campbell says the existing intersection would likely be very complex given the number of accessways and side roads, and it presents an extremely challenging construction environment.
"Additionally, as this is a live corridor, any temporary solution is likely to cause further delays.
"While Waka Kotahi has not undertaken a roundabout assessment for this location, we are continuing to look at options to improve safety and traffic flow on this section of State Highway 2, including the intersection with Omokoroa Rd. These options could include a roundabout, however, there are some challenges with this option."
Looking at a temporary roundabout similar to the one at Paeroa, Campbell says the speed environment in Paeroa is different than that of the intersection of SH2 and Omokoroa Rd.
"It is located in a 50km/h urban area, and SH2/Omokoroa Rd intersection is in an 80km/h rural environment. It lacks the infrastructure, such as kerbs and channels, to make it look and feel like an urban area, to help ensure road users would respond with lower travel speeds leading up to the roundabout.
"Any temporary speed limit put in place will need to comply with the requirements of the Setting of Speed Limits Rule, this includes consultation with the community."
Campbell says a roundabout typically requires relatively balanced flows of traffic on all approaches. If not balanced, this would exacerbate the problems currently experienced.
"High traffic volumes southbound on SH2 may provide little opportunity (especially during the morning peak) for southbound traffic exiting Omokoroa Rd, which could lead to frustration and poor decision making."
Other safety interventions they could look at are, for example, introducing an intersection speed zone sign.
