“For us (on Work Rd) going into Tauranga, we can go up around Morton Rd — which is half a kilometre. But if we go into Katikati, when we’re returning home we have to go past Work Rd all the through to Apata Station Rd and back up to Work Rd which is just under four kilometres. So that’s an extra eight kilometres,’’ he says.
This may deter people from shopping in Katikati, he says.
Another example is Lund Rd. Commuters going to Katikati have to travel back through to Matahui Rd to drive back to Lund Rd, another three kilometres each way.
Distances between each roundabout along the section are (heading north) Apata Station Rd to Pahoia/Esdaile Rd (2.5km), Lockington/Matahui Rd to Morton Rd (2.9km), Sharp Rd to Lockington/Matahui Rd (3.1km) and (heading south ) Rea/Tetley Rd (1.9km), Morton Rd to Apata Station Rd (3.8km) and Pahoia/Esdaile Rd to Omokoroa Rd (2.1km).
The carbon footprint of these extra kilometres is huge, Mike says.
“Based on a calculated estimate of all the traffic movements in the roads off SH2 there would be an extra 3.5 million vehicle kilometres travelled per year. And how much petrol is that? You start adding those up and you get massive amounts of extra kilometres travelled if everyone is doing the right thing.’’
Safety is a huge concern, he says.
The median barriers end 200 metres from bridges, leaving room for commuters to do a u-turn so as not to drive further to get home.
“That’s a danger in itself. But that’s what I’ll do, I won’t travel an extra eight kilometres to go home. If the road is really busy, that will be hard to do but people will try it ... that to me is a greater hazard than leaving these intersections open.’’
Mike is not against the idea of median barriers.
“Don’t get me wrong, you can put them down the length of the highway, just not past the intersections.’’
There’s only been one fatal crash (from intersections) on the highway section in the last 10 years, he says.
“We used to have a terrible road. Now they’ve lowered the speed limit, they’ve improved the road and the intersections ... let’s give the people in this part of the road an opportunity to see how it goes without wire barriers across their intersections.’’
He’d also like the seagull (concrete) intersections looked at as an alternative along some of the intersections, where possible.
Waka Kotahi Regional manager of maintenance and operations Rob Campbell says spacing between the roundabouts is planned for every 1.9km to 3.8km and will make turning right “much safer’' for those who live along SH2.
“While these changes will require some patience and understanding, it makes the road safer for everyone. There’s a small percentage of people who will need to drive a short distance further to use a turnaround facility, in comparison to those who are passing through an area without stopping.’’
For this small number of journeys, emissions may be higher, he says.
“However, this is not significant when compared against total emissions from vehicle travel. We want to see a transport system that is both safe and has lower carbon emissions. Waka Kotahi is leading and supporting programmes and projects to encourage more use of low-emissions vehicles, better walking and cycling routes, and increased access to public transport as our strategy to reduce emissions.’’
Rob says they know flexible median barriers are effective because of the number of times they get hit.
“They’re designed to absorb the impact, protecting you and others in the vehicle, ensuring your vehicle isn’t deflected into another traffic lane. This is not the case with concrete barriers.’’
Rebecca Mauger is the editor of Katikati Advertiser. She’s been with NZME for more than 20 years in a variety of journalist roles including ad writer, community reporter and entertainment/lifestyle magazine writer.
