Greerton resident Maria Barnhill said the location of the pedestrian crossing was "quite dangerous". Photo / Mead Norton
Greerton resident Maria Barnhill said the location of the pedestrian crossing was "quite dangerous". Photo / Mead Norton
Safety concerns have been raised about a "busy crossing" in Greerton after two people were killed using a pedestrian crossing in Bethlehem.
A Bethlehem resident says "the same thing could easily happen there [in Greerton]" while Greerton residents say the crossing is "dangerous".
But Tauranga City Council says the crossingat the intersection of Chadwick Rd and Cameron Rd was visible to drivers from both directions and, to date, the council was not aware of any accident with pedestrians and vehicles at the crossing.
The council confirmed there have been no fatalities at this crossing.
Police were called to a crash involving a motorcycle on State Highway 2 near the Bethlehem shops about 8.30pm on Friday.
On the Bethlehem incident, Bethlehem resident Lesley Sjardin said their deaths were "a tragedy that could have been avoided".
"To have a pedestrian crossing located on a busy State Highway and so very close to a very busy roundabout is nothing short of crazy - a tragedy waiting to happen."
Local residents have raised safety concerns about the crossing being close to a roundabout. Photo / Mead Norton
In a letter to the editor, Sjardin said she had "similar thoughts" about the pedestrian crossing at the Chadwick Rd and Cameron Rd intersection in Greerton.
Sjardin said the crossing was "just as bad" apart from it not being on a main highway.
She described it as being "almost on top of the roundabout" and as "a busy crossing".
"It's so close and you have to be careful there, too. And I can see that the same thing could easily happen there."
Before the council moved the crossing, Sjardin said it was "much more sensibly located at quite some distance from the roundabout".
"Where it was before was absolutely fine - why did they move it? It's just crazy."
When the road was "clogged with traffic", the pedestrian crossing was "actually safe because you can walk between the cars".
"But on other days, it's not safe. It's a busy intersection.
"Do we have to wait for yet another tragedy before common sense prevails and the crossing is relocated back to the previous position?"
The Bay of Plenty Times spoke to pedestrians using the Greerton crossing on Wednesday.
Greerton resident Maria Barnhill said the location of the pedestrian crossing was "quite dangerous". Photo / Mead Norton
Maria Barnhill said she thought the location of the crossing was a "hazard" and it was "quite dangerous".
Standing near the crossing, Barnhill said: "It blocks all the traffic through here - it stops the flow going through and could cause an accident."
She said the location was "the worst place they ever put it".
"It was better where it was."
Ron Coutts said in his view, people drove "a bit slower" in Greerton, whereas in Bethlehem, people would drive "a lot faster".
"I've never seen any problems here, in fact, I've seen most drivers are very courteous here."
Greerton Lotto owner Belinda Sands said in her view, the Greerton roundabout was not like the Bethlehem roundabout "where you're coming off high speeds".
"Whereas we've already got slow speeds either side - we've got 50km/h and it's so congested you can't speed."
But she still thought it was dangerous.
"If people don't know it's there, then there's a danger that you just come through, you're busy looking to see who's on the roundabout and everything else and you might not see the red light.
"And there is a danger that you will hit someone and that would be just disastrous for both sides.
"The only other thing I could see that they could make this better is reduce the speed through Greerton to 40km/h."
Tauranga City Council director of transport Brendan Bisley. Photo / George Novak
Tauranga City Council director of transport Brendan Bisley said the crossing was shifted about three to four years ago to "better align" with where pedestrians were crossing the road as part of the wider changes in Greerton.
"A significant number of pedestrians were not using the previous crossing point and this was creating safety issues as they crossed between the moving traffic," he said.
Bisley said the road layout through Greerton created a "slower speed environment" than Bethlehem, which improved the safety for pedestrians.
"The crossing is visible to the drivers from both directions and to date, Council is not aware of any accident with pedestrians and vehicles at the crossing."
Bisley said the council was undertaking a review of the road layout on Cameron Rd between Barkes Corner and 17th Ave to look at "long-term changes" that would support the intensification of the Te Papa Peninsula.
This would include the intersection at Chadwick Rd and the signalised pedestrian crossing.
Tauranga City Council has been asked for data about complaints received relating to the location and safety of the crossing.
