A new roundabout is on the cards for Te Awamutu - pending feedback from the community - to cater for future residential growth.
Committee members at today's Service Delivery meeting heard a proposal for the roundabout which would be constructed on Cambridge Rd at Te Awamutu's northeastern entrance.
As well as the possibility of creating an attractive new entrance into town, it would also serve as an access for two residential growth cells, T9/T14, scheduled for development in the area.
Waipā District Council transportation manager Bryan Hudson said the roundabout would provide a safe, long term solution which would best serve Te Awamutu's growing population.
"A roundabout would effectively slow cars down as they enter Te Awamutu and provide a safe U-turn facility for traffic from Picquet Hill and Thorncombe roads which have limited sight when trying to make a right turn out on to Cambridge Rd," says Bryan.
"It would also allow Picquet Hill and Thorncombe Rd intersections to be restricted to left-in, left-out turns if future traffic volumes present a higher risk for right-turn movements."
The next stages of the T9 growth cell, which has allocation for a further 100 new sections, are under development with about 40 sections built or under way.
The site is currently accessed from Thorncombe Rd but in its later stages will gain access from Cambridge Rd.
The much larger T14 growth cell, which will see around 1000 homes constructed, will not be developed until after 2035, however landowners may seek to explore development earlier.
Bryan says the original plan for the intersection, which had been consulted on with residents, was to widen the road and add a right-turn bay on Cambridge Rd.
The existing Cambridge and Thorncombe Rd intersection would also be closed to reduce the number of intersections and conflict points onto the arterial road.
