An aerial view of part of the Te Papa peninsula, where major intensification work is proposed. Photo / Tauranga City Council
Get on with it - that's the message from some in the community as Tauranga City Council mulls the case for spending $450 million over 30 years on transport in intensified suburbs.
And council staff have estimated the investment would "unlock" $1b worth of benefits for the area and wider city, such as healthier people, more jobs and quicker trips.
In a meeting today, elected members will be asked to sign off an indicative business case for a 30-year multimodal transport programme to transform Te Papa peninsula that would include footpath upgrades, more cycling facilities including two north-to-south commuter corridors and more bus lanes and clearways.
The peninsula stretches from the CBD to Greerton and was identified by the council in 2018 as the area first off the block for widespread intensification.
If signed off by the council, the business case would go the NZ Transport Agency for approval consideration.
The agency helped prepare the case, as did the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, which runs Tauranga's public transport system.
Being indicative, the business case was about making sure all parties were on board with the direction, risks and benefits of the projects, rather than committing funding.
More than 19,000 people live on the peninsula in about 7500 dwellings. About 19,500 jobs are based there.
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The council's plan would see another 16,500 residents added by 2050, along with 13,500 more dwellings and 14,000 more workers.
Denser housing was needed to achieve this, with proposals to allow buildings up to six stories in places close to amenities, public transport and major employment hubs such as the CBD, the Gate Pa/Tauranga Hospital area and Greerton.
Supporting that would be a different kind of transport network.
The $450m cost identified in the business case included $110m for 110km of footpath upgrades to encourage walking, and $150m for 23km of cycling facilities including two north-to-south commuter corridors.
The $190m for bus services would pay for more bus lanes and clearways and steadily increased frequencies until services on Cameron Rd were running every 2.5 minutes by 2050.
The Government has told Tauranga the city needs to grow up as well as out, and change rules where necessary to do so.
Changes to the City Plan that would make it easier to build duplexes and apartment buildings have been proposed but would not become operative until next year.
The Te Papa work also fed into broader growth planning, such as Smartgrowth's sub-regional Urban Form and Transport Initiative, and more local projects, such as plans to put remove parking and bus and cycleways down Cameron Rd.
Community leaders the Bay of Plenty Times spoke to backed intensification, but some wanted to see the Te Papa work prioritised and moving faster.
Both Glen Crowther, regional coordinator for the Sustainable Business Network and Vicki McLaren, Tauranga general manager of social housing provider Accessible Properties Limited, wanted Te Papa clearly prioritised over greenfield developments.
McLaren said prioritising intensification over "urban sprawl" was "the game changing catalyst the city needs".
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to supercharge projects that have the ability to transform the way we live and work for the better."
Accessible Properties has previously announced plans to revitalise and intensify hundreds of older state houses in the Gate Pa/Pukehinahina area.
Crowther said prioritisation was needed to ensure the council "pulled out all the stops" to make intensification work, including incentives to draw in developers.
He believed it would save money in the long run, as growing greenfield areas had consistently left the council with big bills from building major new infrastructure from scratch.
Phil Green, chairman of the Grace Road And Neighbourhood Residents Association and architect, said there was good support among residents for intensification, but also confusion.
He said it would help to see visual representations of the proposed change "on a human scale" as opposed to complex, wordy reports and consultation documents.
He was concerned some intensification ideas had been talked about for the last decade with little action, and wanted to see the council "get on with it".
Good transportation in Te Papa was "critical" given compact housing designs usually allowed less space for garages and cars.
The way the city embraced walking and cycling during the lockdown was proof people would use those modes of transport more if they were safe, he said.
"Sometimes you have to force people into change. That comes from visionary leadership."
Nigel Tutt, chief executive of economic development agency Priority One, said intensification was vital for the future of the city.
"Building up rather than out will allow better infrastructure management, concentration of jobs in the CBD and better ability for people to access them.
"The only real question is how fast we can do it."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said the peninsula supported a large portion of the city's GDP and needed to be easy to move around.
Making it easier for people to travel around and live close to the CBD would help the area become a 24/7 destination, not just one for work hours, as well as helping businesses attract staff.
He said the changes would impact some businesses negatively - for example, those on Cameron Rd who may need to replace lost on-street parking - and the council needed to consult carefully, make clear plans, and offer appropriate compensation.
Put to the council that some felt the project wasn't progressing fast enough, the council said the project was on track and provided an outline of work so far including spatial framework development in early 2019 then two rounds of community consultation - including one underway now - and work on linked projects.
Western Bay of Plenty District could have fewer councillors to vote for next election.