Rotorua's Marguerita St: Why no one seems happy about proposed changes on commuter route

A recommendation to make only minor adjustments to Marguerita St has created dissatisfaction among people on both sides of the issue about safety and traffic on the key commuter route.

The Rotorua Lakes Council's Operations and Monitoring Committee will decide tomorrow whether to refer a council officers' recommendation for a "modification of the status quo" to the full council.

That council decision, set for later in the month, would see the introduction of signs, street narrowing and a pedestrian crossing for the street.

In January the Rotorua Daily Post reported Arvida Glenbrae retirement home residents had petitioned the council to address shaking and rumbling from heavy vehicles on the street, which was causing some residents distress and damaging their homes.

On June 29, the council opened public consultation on three proposed options for Marguerita St, prompting Marguerita St property owner Peter Baars to start a petition calling for the retention of the status quo.

The three proposals were to keep the street as it is; install traffic management features such as chicanes or narrowing the road to reduce traffic speeds and volumes; or close the road to through-traffic near the western, residential end.

Baars' petition attracted 680 signatures while the residents' petition had 57.

Marguerita St and Glenbrae retirement village. Photo / Andrew Warner

On Wednesday Baars said he did not oppose the council's recommendation of a pedestrian crossing on the street but did not want to see the street narrowed.

"To some degree I'm pleased, but also perturbed that there was an overwhelming support for the status quo [and the] council have made a modification to the street and are still calling it the status quo, which is nonsense.

He said in his view: "they're not doing what the public has asked."

He said narrowing the street could impact larger vehicles, which in turn could impact business.

"The council indicated early on there wasn't an issue with speed on that street … so why do they need to take action to try to modify speed when they themselves said it wasn't an issue?

"Any modification to the status quo is no longer the status quo. It bewilders me."

However, on the other side of the issue, Glenbrae resident Graham Winter was also not impressed with the proposed solution.

He was surprised the council had not advised him of the outcome of the public feedback process, only learning of it when the Rotorua Daily Post contacted him for comment on Wednesday.

He said he was "thoroughly disappointed" by the outcome.

"Bugger. That's not even a bandaid. Doing nothing to the wound and the wound will just open up even further."

He said a pedestrian crossing was good but didn't address the main problem for Glenbrae residents, which was heavy traffic.

Arvida Glenbrae residents Molly Campbell (left) and Graham Winter in January. Photo / File

He said heavy traffic was fine at the north-eastern end of the street but residents didn't want it at the western end.

He wasn't sure what the next steps would be for the residents of Glenbrae, saying: "The only thing we can do is change the council, to be honest".

He said distress from rumbling trucks for some of the residents fronting Marguerita St was ongoing.

"I wish they'd just have a bit of a rethink on it."

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said she and council infrastructure manager Stavros Michael met with Glenbrae residents to understand their concerns.

"The right process was then undertaken in terms of community consultation, and we understand that there are diverse views."

She said elected members now needed to consider and discuss the recommendations from council officers and make a decision.

Michael told the Rotorua Daily Post emails had been sent to submitters who provided email addresses with information regarding Thursday's meeting.

"Prior to this a council staff member spoke directly to a Glenbrae residents' representative to discuss, in general terms, the outcome of consultation and the potential recommendations that would be put to elected members for their consideration."

He said council representatives would meet with Glenbrae residents again once a decision was made.

Of the 1321 responses received by the council - which included petition signatures - 1167 supported the maintenance of the status quo, while 71 supported traffic management adjustments and 83 supported the closure of the street to through-traffic.

Council infrastructure capital programmes manager Peter Dine said in a report for tomorrow's meeting, that the "overwhelming preferred option" was for the status quo.

"This option will have no further impact on traffic and the majority of road users. However, the option will not address the concerns and views of individuals that reside in Marguerita St."

As a result, council officers proposed to respond to residents' concerns through the introduction of some measures that address matters of perceived safety, Dine said in the report.

Those measures were the pedestrian crossing, additional threshold markings on both ends of the residential areas "to highlight the presence of local residential activity" and the additional physical restriction of the lanes widths to encourage lower speed limits, Dine's report said.

That physical restriction - the "narrowing" - of lanes would take the form of four sets of chicanes along the length of the street.

Businesses on the street also made submissions, including Arvida, the company that owns the Glenbrae retirement village.

Arvida's submission stated a volume of work had already been undertaken to alleviate issues for residents arising from the heavy vehicles on the street.

"Of greater concern is the unknown level of issues and costs that could arise in the future."

* The council operations and monitoring committee meeting will be held in the council chamber on October 5, beginning at 9.30am. More details can be found at rotorualakescouncil.nz