The move to level 3 comes with a few changes to rules in Tauranga and the Western Bay, including restored access to some - but not all - parks and recycling facilities.
Keen golf, tennis and bowls players may also be able to get back out there, with limited openings of some club facilities - and a strict new playbook.
Most public spaces in both Tauranga and the Western Bay will remain closed under level 3. These include service centres, libraries, public pools, playgrounds, boat ramps and most public toilets.
Recycling centres in Tauranga will remain closed to the public for now, along with transfer stations, but will partially reopen in two Western Bay towns for a few days during level 3.
The Western Bay of Plenty District Council says Katikati and Te Puke recycling centres will open on alternate weeks from Thursday, with strict new rules for both staff and customers.
Only limited items will be accepted - cardboard, paper, glass and tin cans. No plastic will be allowed due to the risk of Covid-19 transmission. No greenwaste will be accepted.
Katikati will open for three days from Thursday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm - closing for an hour at noon - with access from Wills Rd. Te Puke will open the following week from Thursday to Saturday.
The council has warned people to expect queues, only visit if it's absolutely necessary and follow instructions of staff. Only one person per household will be allowed to drop off items in the centre and no trailers or pets are allowed.
Tauranga's council said its transfer stations were staying closed as travel to and from them was not essential, and waste removal was available via kerbside pickup services.
The council did not expect recycling centres to be able to open in level 2, though transfer stations may be able to.
Most council services and operations would be attended to in the same way as they did under level 4, but both parks and reserve maintenance and consent activities will restart.
Parks, reserves and sports clubs
People can drive short distances to exercise from today, meaning more locals will be able to head to the beach for a socially-distant walk. Those with experience can also swim, surf or fish from the shore.
There will be restored access to some parks and reserves, and a handful of sports clubs will be able to partially reopen.
TECT Park will partially reopen on April 28 for limited activities. These included mountain biking, horse riding and walking tracks, which will be open from 8am to 5.30pm daily, with social distancing still required and toilet facilities closed.
There will be a strict-one way policy on accessible trails.
All parks in Tauranga will be open to the public with the exception of Mauao, the Oropi Mountain Bike Park and McLaren Falls Park, which remain closed.
The council said Mauao had to stay closed due to the volume of users, narrow tracks and lack of a way to manage safe distancing or contact tracing.
Another reason for some continued closures was to keep first responders safe. For example, during the lockdown a man went into the closed Oropi Park and had an accident. He required medical help from both council staff and ambulance staff.
Residents will have to wait a while longer to see this view from the summit of Mauao. Photo / File
Clubs for no-contact sports such as golf, tennis and bowls can open some facilities to members playing solo or with others in their home bubble under level 3.
Tauranga Golf Club manager Michelle Towersey said only members would be allowed to use the course, under strict conditions to avoid contact.
Shared course equipment such as flags and rakes had been removed, toilet and club facilities would be locked, and players would need to book a tee time, which would be spaced 10 mins apart, as well as log their movements via a contact tracing app.
She said players should treat their outing as exercise rather than a traditional game of golf. There should be no handshakes, scoring or loitering on the course.
She said the club had two new members this week, and expected more to come as golf was one of few sports that looked able to continue through winter.
Towersey said the club was a public reserve, so non-golfers would be able to continue using it for walks - they just needed to look out for golfers.
"Perhaps stick to the boundaries."
A golf professional at The Clubroom Tauranga, Hayden Beard can't wait to hit the links again - even if he'll be solo. Photo / George Novak
Hayden Beard, one of the golf professionals at The Clubroom Tauranga, said he was "stoked to be able to get back out there" and play a solo round, even if he was still not able to coach.
With only 43 tee times a day to share between 720 members, however, he said players would need to be patient.
The driving range and mini putt at Golf 360 in Mount Maunganui, however, will remain closed.
Owner Scott Pickett said he had hoped to open, but in reality, had found would be very difficult to function properly under the guidelines.
Hospitals
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board has not announced any changes to its no visitors policy for its facilities, including Tauranga and Whakatane hospitals.
There were some exceptions to this policy under level 4, including for women in labour and people visiting those in palliative care.
Several state highway projects around the Bay of Plenty will resume under alert level 3, along with road maintenance, according to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
Projects include Baylink, the reseal of SH29A between the Maungatapu and Hairini roundabouts, SH2 Waihi to Ōmokoroa safety improvements and road reconstruction on SH2 near Paengaroa.
The Paengaroa work will take place to the east of the Wilson Rd South and Wilson Rd North intersections from 7am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. They are expected to take 12 days to complete.
