Tauranga traffic: Council pushes for $23m plan ahead of roadworks disruption

Removing charges from a major toll road, shuttle buses from the suburbs, and unlocking an alternative route are among 20 measures being considered to help ease traffic congestion in Tauranga ahead of more major roadworks.

The measures also aim to factor in the probability of “rat runners” seeking alternative routes while the work is carried out.

But some commuters are alarmed by the potential disruption the roading projects will have on the city’s already congested roads.

Tauranga City Council will carry out more investigations and designs to mitigate the impact on traffic from significant transport projects within the next 10 years. The projects include Cameron Rd stage two and the upgrade of 15th Ave and Turret Rd, both expected to start next year.

In a report presented to the council on Monday, council manager of safety and sustainability Anna Somerville said lessons had been learned from the recently completed Cameron Rd stage one and the Baypark to Bayfair Link (B2B) projects that “significant disruption in traffic flow is likely”, and people would use alternative routes to get to where they need to go.

Somerville sought $13 million in extra funding to try to mitigate that through a suite of “congestion easing” measures.

Free use of Takitimu Drive’s tolled section, also known as Route K, was one option. Removing Cameron Rd on-street car parking between 13th Ave and Chadwick to create continuous cycle lanes was another. Opening up Gargan Rd at State Highway 29 temporarily to light vehicles, plus offering Park and Ride services and a shuttle to make use of T2 and T3 lanes between Welcome Bay and the city centre were also proposed.

“There are a number of improvements identified which include implementing clearways in the peak direction, intersection improvements to enable better flow of traffic during peak periods, and installing electronic journey information signs which will encourage motorists to make informed decisions about their journey time and their preferred route. The majority of these improvements are proposed to be implemented during the 2025/26 financial year, before construction of the [transport projects] gets underway,” Somerville said.

“This is to allow sufficient time to undertake the detailed investigatory work ...”

The council has already portioned $10 million in the 2024-34 Long-term Plan for congestion-easing improvements. What was needed was “significantly over the $10m”, Somerville said.

Somerville told the meeting “We’ve learned a lot from Cameron Rd stage one and B2B ... However, the investigations reveal approximately $23m of investment will be required”.

This funding pool was expected to cover a suite of “low cost, low risk” measures each expected to cost less than $2m.

Commissioners were asked to seek extra funding from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

They agreed.

Traffic backed up on Fifteenth Ave on June 20, 2023. Some road users choose to avoid the worst of the congestion by using the shortcut on Burrows Street. Photo / Alex Cairns

Previously the council worked to discourage people using shortcuts to avoid congestion, resulting in the closure of 14th Ave east.

However, commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said the more they could do to manage the inevitable disruption, the better.

Commissioner Bill Wasley said “no matter what you do” there will be “rat runners” and he was impressed with the proactive approach suggested.

Stephen Selwood said key arterial routes were highly congested already and “we need to invest in these projects sooner rather than later.

“That’s where, hopefully, the new council will have their focus. If you don’t fix that, then you don’t fix Tauranga.”

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston said certain congestion investments could be worth it, referencing the Tauranga Eastern Link connection as a measure that worked.

“[Transport projects are] going to be disruptive for everybody. B2B and Cameron Rd have shown us we need to think proactively,” Rolleston said.

Frances and Aaron Cooper own The Whipped Baker and use the Welcome Bay and Maungatapu 15th Ave connection to the city centre many times each day. Traffic was already awful, both agreed.

The prospect of what traffic would be like once the 15th Ave to Welcome Bay upgrade began would be “diabolical”, Frances said.

Anticipated rat running routes in Tauranga when roadworks begin on 15th Ave to Welcome Bay Rd. Image / TCC

“If they are proposing to do this, it’s going to be a logistical nightmare.”

The Whipped Baker is based in the Tauranga Historic Village on 17th Ave and Maungatapu Rd. Fifteenth Ave was the key arterial route between both sites and the Coopers’ family home in Welcome Bay.

It delivers from 6.30am and again between 7.30am and 7.45am most mornings when it takes an average of 40 minutes to get to 17th Ave from Maungatapu.

The Whipped Baker also delivered to different sites across Tauranga throughout the day. On Tuesday, it carried out 10 deliveries before midday “all at different times, back and forwards”.

Frances said they would not be able to make use of the proposed park-and-ride service or use T2 or T3 lanes.

She would like to see vehicles used frequently for business, such as hers, eligible for priority lanes.

Tauranga City Council Commissioner Stephen Selwood says he hopes the new council will be focused on trying to fix congestion issues. Photo / Alex Cairns

Aaron said they had just spent the last two years dealing with Cameron Rd disruption, “not to mention the road works while the [Maungatapu] underpass was getting done to help with congestion”.

In his view, the only reason the roads were congested was because of what the council had done, he said.

“They are worse now and now we have to pay for it,” he said, in his opinion.

“Why can’t they just let us get our lives back on track after the last disruption of the underpass, then Cameron Rd. That was hard enough to deal with. This is an absolute joke now. How the heck are we meant to deal with this?”

At Gargan Rd, Versatile Panel Beating owner Matt Farmer said he was reluctant to see the road opened, even temporarily to light vehicles.

Farmer said the road resembled more of a country lane than a road, let alone a thoroughfare.

“It’s not really a road anymore,” he said.

“It would be pretty hectic. We park a lot out the front and have lots of vehicles around. It would be crazy busy through here.”

Farmer said he felt the proposal “just moved congestion from one place to another”.

In response, Somerville told the Bay of Plenty Times they heard the concerns about traffic disruption associated with the construction projects.

“We have commissioned the arterial review report to ensure that traffic disruptions are kept to a minimum while construction is under way,” she said.

The matter is expected to be discussed again later this year.