Kiri Gillespie: Links Ave issue highlights question of adaption

The trial closure of Links Ave sparked plenty of upset. Photo / George Novak

OPINION

Change is not always a welcome thing – a bit like the trial closure of Links Ave.

Residents in the area had been calling for safety improvements to the road, so Tauranga City Council closed the street to most through traffic. It wasn’t exactly the road redesign that was asked for. I’m not surprised there’s been outrage.

Previously, council director of transport Brendan Bisley said the trial was about changing people’s driving behaviours. The road simply wasn’t built for the amount of traffic it was experiencing - that was an issue enough before bringing in the safety of children trying to get to school.

I agree, despite the seemingly unorthodox way the council went about things.

For years, Links Ave has been great to zip through to beat State Highway 2/Maunganui Rd traffic but since the Baypark to Bayfair roadworks got under way on the highway, the parallel residential street has become just as busy, if not worse, than the very traffic people were trying to avoid.

But now it seems people’s ability to get from A to B within 10 minutes has been ripped away from them - and if you listen to some, it’s all because of the trial.

Surely the news last week that the road will be partially reopened in time for Christmas will appease some. But I doubt it.

Many of the trial’s most vocal and upset voices are people who don’t live in Links Ave, rather being part of that traffic causing the issue in the first place. I have some trouble sympathising with them.

Consider the drive between Welcome Bay from the CBD between 4.15pm and 5.15pm, where stationary traffic stretches from Turret Rd to Devonport Rd’s entrance to Memorial Park most days.

And yet when the council introduced traffic lights on Burrows St in 2020 that favoured highway traffic over rat runners, there were none of the petitions, council meetings, and community action groups the likes of which the Links Ave closure sparked.

The council says it’s doing all it can to help the city cope with the population growth that is putting the transport network under pressure - whether that’s the case is a debate for another time.

In the meantime, the growth isn’t going to slow any time soon and disruptive roadworks come with it.

I’m not saying we should not discuss and debate the changes on our roads, and make them better. I am saying we also each need to look at our own role in the network.

We can remain part of the traffic we seem to love to whinge about, or we can look at the bigger picture and start to explore other options.

Public transport, bikes, e-bikes, car-pooling, or simply changing the times we travel can all make a difference.

Traffic happiness really comes down to each of us – if we’re willing to adapt.