Ohauiti Rd resident Philip Rumbal. Photo / Talia Parker
"Please do something quickly."
That's the message retirees have for the council about the stretch of road they live on.
They fear it is only a matter of time before someone is hit by a vehicle and killed outside the village.
Greenwood Retirement Village backs on to Ohauiti Rd in Welcome Bay, a road with a garden centre, cafe and bus stops along the Welcome Bay to Tauranga CBD bus route.
Village residents say the road needs a pedestrian crossing, as well as a closer bus stop to help elderly residents retain their mobility.
It's a call backed by the village owners and another Ohauiti Rd resident.
Tauranga City Council says it recently made safety improvements to the stretch of road and shares concerns about speeding vehicles.
A resident of Greenwood Retirement Village, who spoke on condition of anonymity, contacted the Bay of Plenty Times "desperately" seeking help.
She had concerns about cars speeding on the road, the distance from the village to the only pedestrian refuge nearby, and the lack of a zebra crossing residents could use.
She said the village's back gate, which opened onto Ohauiti Rd, was frequently used by residents to catch buses, cross to the garden centre, or walk to the cafe. She wanted the council to establish a bus stop closer to the village and a zebra crossing near the gates.
"Many use the footpaths simply for a daily exercise routine."
The resident said she first contacted the council about "dangerous" driving on the road around the end of 2020.
She said the council ultimately responded by moving the bus stop and pedestrian crossing further down Ohauiti Rd, which in her view had caused even more problems for residents.
Since the change, residents walked a further half block to the crossing and had to double back to use the bus stop, she said.
This was "really difficult" as residents already had to walk between one to five blocks within the village to reach Ohauiti Rd.
In her view: "How can these TCC actions be measured as being safe for our residents?"
She said the residents needed an extra crossing and two bus stops to the left on the south side of the Wineberry Lane gates on the road.
But she was not optimistic that the council would listen.
"After all their delays, frankly, I don't feel hopeful."
Local resident Philip Rumbal, who lives on Ohauiti Rd, echoed calls for a pedestrian crossing on the road and said drivers did not follow the road rules.
He said other residents were getting frustrated because they felt they had "got nowhere" with the council and believed it did not listen to residents' messages about the road.
"People don't ring and talk to them because they don't get answers.
In his view: "[Council] won't do anything until it becomes a big problem - they can't think in the future."
Another Greenwood Retirement Village resident said the road was "definitely" unsafe as motorcycles "scream up and down [Ohauiti Rd] at all hours of the day and night".
"They're [speeding drivers] a danger to everybody, and themselves.
"I just worry sometimes, one of these old ladies, or an old man, or even a cat or a dog, is gonna run across the road and it'll be history."
He wanted a council representative to observe the behaviour on Ohauiti Rd.
He said, in his view: "I'm unimpressed with the council at the moment ... it's all pie in the sky for these people really, they don't give a damn about older people.
"Please do something quickly."
A Metlifecare spokesperson said the company supported residents' calls for a pedestrian crossing.
"The ease of access to bus stops is a key issue for our residents. We would also like to see these amenities improved for the local community."
Tauranga City Council's network safety and sustainability manager Anna Somerville said the pedestrian refuge was moved further down the road "to improve safety and to address an area where the majority of the pedestrians in the area needed to cross the road".
Somerville said there were six crashes on the road over the past five years, "ranging from minor injuries sustained through to a tragic fatality".
"A pedestrian sustained minor injuries in late 2018, we do however understand that the person died subsequently, but it is unclear whether this was a direct result of the crash.
"Since this accident occurred, the pedestrian refuge has been relocated closer to the Welcome Bay Road intersection."
She said the council "acknowledge that this added an additional 160m to the walk to the village from the Wineberry Lane entrance to the northbound bus".
While the safety budget for the 2021-2022 financial year was fully allocated, she said the council planned to add an extra pedestrian refuge closer to the village gates in 2022-2023.
She said the council would talk to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council about "the opportunity to provide additional bus stops near the Ohauiti Rd entrance to Greenwood Park Village, to better cater for their access needs".
She said the council was also concerned about speeding on the road and had shared this with the police, who she said were responsible for enforcing speed limits.
"Representatives from TCC's transport safety team are happy to come out and discuss the residents' concerns."
When contacted for comment Bay of Plenty Regional Council suggested contacting the city council in the first instance as it installed bus stops.
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