A group of Papamoa residents, fed up with what they see as council procrastination on tsunami issues, has called for a freeze on the development of greenfield subdivisions in Papamoa East until roading issues are solved.
The newly formed Papamoa Evacuation and Road Safety Group is concerned at the lack of direction on evacuation routes and alternative roads out of Papamoa if the big one arrives.
"There is a significant amount of anxiety in the community," said Rick Hannay, one of the group's founder members. He said walking inland was a pretty hopeless option when a tsunami generated in the Kermadec Trench had an arrival time of 50 minutes. That was highlighted by a recent tsunami evacuation exercise by a local school.
The group was alarmed the council had approved the development of another 1000 sections centred on Wairakei, when traffic would still be channelled down an already overstretched Papamoa Beach Rd for another 10 years.
The development of Palm Springs, Golden Sands, Emerald Shores and Excelsior subdivisions had added to the pressure on Papamoa Beach Rd.