Close up of the proposed new intersection at Titiraupenga St and Spa Rd. Image / Taupo District Council
Close up of the proposed new intersection at Titiraupenga St and Spa Rd. Image / Taupo District Council
There is a focus on Titiraupenga St, Taupō, as plans unfold for a major revamp of the town centre.
Last week Taupō businesses had an insight into how a re-vamped Titiraupenga St will function.
The upgrade is part of the Taupō Town Centre Transformation project which also includes developing pedestrian malls, linking the waterfront to public spaces and the town, completely rethinking car parking, and bringing forward plans for a second Waikato River bridge crossing.
Titiraupenga St is set to become the new arterial route through the town centre. It will have traffic lights at Spa Rd, Horomatangi St, and Heuheu St. There will be compulsory stops at all other intersections, including Tamamutu St where there will be a change in priority.
All the funding for the $20.6 million change is from the government's shovel-ready fund. The Titiraupenga St Upgrade project team presented the new designs at last week's Towncentre Taupō meeting.
Final design details are still being hammered out however Titiraupenga St upgrade project manager Izelda Cruz shared the design so far with the Taupō & Tūrangi Weekender. She said the new road will need to be built to a standard to accommodate heavy traffic, pedestrians, visitors, and those with accessibility needs.
Traffic from the north will be coming along Spa Rd, and this traffic will be encouraged on to Titiraupenga St. Vehicles can then peel off to access the CBD or continue on to Lake Terrace. Traffic lights at the Spa Rd/Titiraupenga St intersection will provide for pedestrians and cyclists.
Izelda said important considerations were enabling students from Taupō-nui-a-Tia College to access the town, and also providing a safe crossing point for people walking from Acacia Bay or Rangatira Park. Going the other way, there will be a dedicated left-hand turn from Titiraupenga St into Spa Rd.
Downer labourer Sky Tahau at the Scannell St part of the Titiraupenga St upgrade, April 2021. Photo / Rachel Canning
Moving down Titiraupenga St towards the lake, the next intersection is Scannell St where there is a compulsory stop and no right turn due to the close proximity to the Spa Rd intersection.
The Paora Hapi St intersection is a compulsory stop and will feature improved pedestrian access to the town, with pedestrian islands and tactile strips at crossing points.
Drivers on Tamamutu St will come to a halt at a compulsory stop when they get to Titiraupenga St. There will be four pedestrian islands at each leg of the intersection.
Izelda said drivers currently using Tamamutu St to access the CBD may decide to go down another street instead.
To help with access to and from Taupō Primary School, a pedestrian mall is already planned for Horomatangi St where it joins Titiraupenga St. Traffic lights and a signalised pedestrian crossing at this intersection will enable school children to safely walk from home to school and back again. There will be no right-hand turn from Horomatangi St onto Titiraupenga St. Izelda said this crossing was quite a challenge to design, with the crossing giving priority to pedestrians at peak school drop off and pick up times.
A second pedestrian crossing is planned to provide a safe crossing for lunchtime play in the community park diagonally across the road from the school.
The Heuheu St intersection will have traffic lights and pedestrian crossings at all four legs. The existing cycle lane into the CBD will be maintained and Izelda said wayfinding signage will show that this street is a gateway to the CBD.
"We have parents telling us that currently, they feel very unsafe crossing the road here, and that they will welcome a safe pedestrian crossing," said Izelda.
The Tuwharetoa St and Roberts St intersections with Titiraupenga St will have four pedestrian crossing points with pedestrian refuges.
"Visitors to our town will feel safe crossing at these intersections. It is what you already see in other town and residents in the adjoining apartments have told us they can't wait for this to happen as it will improve their safety."
Similar to the treatment at Scannell St, there will be a compulsory stop at Northcroft St where it meets Titiraupenga St, and there will be no right turn from Northcroft St into Titiraupenga St as the intersection is too close to the bigger intersection at Lake Terrace.
Already home to Z and Caltex petrol stations, an altered street network will see Titiraupenga St become the main thoroughfare. Photo / Rachel Canning
Traffic will be encouraged to turn left from Lake Terrace into Titiraupenga St, and there will be no right turn from Titiraupenga St into Lake Terrace.
"Drivers will have had multiple opportunities to turn right before they get to Lake Terrace."
Izelda said wayfaring will play a big part in the success of Titiraupenga St as an arterial road, and she says there will be plenty of signage to help drivers get into the town centre or continue onto the lakefront.
"The network design is very forgiving. If you miss a turn on your car's GPS, then never mind, you can turn at the next street."
She said local drivers will find the CBD roading network is far more efficient because getting through intersections will be easier, and in turn this will take more traffic off the other streets.
Currently the pedestrian mall and the signalised crossing is being constructed on Horomatangi St, at the Titiraupenga St intersection.
This work is expected to take six weeks, and to provide the least amount of disruption to Taupō Primary School. A five day full or partial closure of this portion of Titiraupenga St will happen during the July holidays.
