Editorial: Town's future looks bright

Gary Allis

The impact of the Tauranga Eastern Link on Te Puke will be massive.

Yesterday, the Bay of Plenty Times reported there will be up to 42,000 fewer vehicles a week going through the town when the link is completed.

An estimated 6000 vehicles would use the TEL each day and that figure is expected to grow. The $455 million project is on track to be completed in late 2015. It says something about business confidence in the area that leaders in Te Puke are seeing the change as an opportunity and not a threat.

Gary Allis, Western Bay of Plenty District Council engineering services group manager, says the vast majority of that traffic would not have stopped in town anyway and 13,000 to 15,000 vehicles per day were still likely to travel into and through the main street.

Although lower traffic volumes may result in reduced customer numbers for businesses, Te Puke, the kiwifruit capital of New Zealand, is a destination in its own right, he says. Others say the redirection of traffic will provide an opportunity for locals to take back their town.

No doubt the inevitable reduction in heavy trucks passing through Te Puke will do a lot to improve the ambience of the town centre.

Their confidence does not appear to be misplaced.

The change comes at a time when the kiwifruit industry is bouncing back strongly from the Psa disaster.

Growers enjoyed higher pricing overall and recent figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand showed an 80 per cent increase in sales of kiwifruit orchards.

Hopefully, this renewed confidence will offset any loss in trade that results from the completion of the Tauranga Eastern Link.