The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend stopped on Jellicoe St (State Highway 2), earlier this week and waited to cross the road. Large trucks, including those bearing placards indicating hazardous cargo, rumbled through central Te Puke.
The street is lined with a mix of retail stores, cafes and services such as banks, health care providers and accountants. The aroma of baked goods merges with the pong of diesel. The big rigs are noisy.
We pop into World of Taste Cafe, where two people stand in front of a barista, while a man wearing a neon yellow safety vest places a food order. Cafe owner Kim Unger doubts the bypass will affect her business.
"The majority of our customers are locals and traffic is horrendous, especially the trucks. They don't stop, anyway. I think it'll make Te Puke a better place."
Nearby, women's clothing store owner Lynette Lochhead expected to take a hit. "I think it'll be very sad day for Te Puke. As a retailer, I benefit hugely from traffic that goes through. Yesterday, I had a husband buying coffee next door and the wife shot in to look at clothes. Forty per cent of my business is people passing through."
Murray Howell, at Te Puke Florist, while arranging a bouquet of Mother's Day roses said, "Many people, especially elderly, are afraid to shop here because of traffic. All round, it'll be a better environment. At times you can't even talk out there, can't breathe, because you're choking on diesel."
Mr Howell and many other business owners said the bypass will give Te Puke a chance to carve its own identity. "We're getting more and more customers from Papamoa. They like to come to Te Puke because it feels more like coming to a village."
Ella's cafe owner Janet May said her customers are mostly locals, but she'd like to attract out-of-towners, too. "We haven't had the right kind of shops to bring people in. They go shopping at the Mount, Tauranga and Papamoa. Te Puke will have to change a lot if we want people to stay here."
Maketu-Te Puke Ward Councillor Karyl Gunn said, "It's up to the community to say how we make Te Puke a destination. That's determined by businesses, not by council."
Trevelyan's Pack and Cool owner James Trevelyan said the bypass allowed the town to start to grow and mature into what it is instead of being a big drain for traffic.
"We're finding our feet and maturing and I think the [new] road will help us do that."
Mr Trevelyan said use of the existing main street by those in the kiwifruit trade, like him, will increase. Already, his workforce swelled from 100 permanent staff to 1200 employees during harvest (between March and June).
Te Puke Economic Development Group (EDG) managing director Mark Boyle sees opportunities for more people, housing and jobs.
"From an economic standpoint, it's not threatening. We're the kiwifruit hub, and the industry is seeing tremendous growth, both in terms of people and product. We'll still service the kiwifruit industry and the farming community."
Mr Boyle said a recent decision by the Western Bay District Council showed the old main road will be in good hands when council starts managing it in two years. The council voted unanimously last month to retain the 100km/h speed limit on rural stretches of SH2 between Papamoa and Paengaroa.
The NZ Transport Agency had proposed dropping it to 80km/h.
"Our group lobbied around retention of speed limits and we continue to lobby around things such as extra roundabouts. They'll manage it as a local road with the assistance of NZTA. We feel the council understands and will work to make sure it's done properly."
Beacon Motel owner Evan Andersen said he'll likely lose quite a few overseas guests who won't see his sign from the bypass. He plans to rely more on internet marketing.
"Our website gets us most of our bookings. Town will be quieter, so that'll appeal to a lot of people, because we're right on the main street. Travellers coming to town want less noise; they'll be a lot happier."
