The construction of a new Burger King is going ahead despite objections from a nearby school.
Construction of a new Burger King branch is under way on Cameron Rd between Fifth and Sixth Aves and within 20m of Tauranga Primary School.
In November the school petitioned Tauranga City Council about the additional traffic it believed would drive down its street once the fast food outlet opens.
Tauranga Primary School deputy board chairman Kevin Allum suggested two options that would solve the problem.
The first would be to make the Fifth Ave entry to Burger King a no exit.
The second would be to put a physical barrier on Fifth Ave so that vehicles exiting on to the road would be forced to turn left and left again on to Cameron Rd.
Tauranga City Council transportation operations manager Martin Parkes said the council had decided against those measures for the time being.
He said the council was removing some parking from around the Cameron Rd exit to allow traffic to get out more safely and installing a pedestrian refuge at the intersection of Cameron Rd and Fifth Ave to help students cross.
Burger King had also agreed to install a left-hand turn arrow at the Fifth Ave exit, he said.
Mr Parkes said he believed it was unlikely the fast food outlet would increase the amount of traffic past the school, which is split across both sides of Fifth Ave.
Traffic counters had already been installed so the council could monitor the change in traffic volumes once the restaurant opened.
"We want to see what actually happens when Burger King's open. There may not be an issue," Mr Parkes said.
He said other measures could be put in place if it was deemed necessary once Burger King was trading.
A spokeswoman for Burger King said they were on track to open the restaurant by the end of March.
"We have had very positive meetings with Jenny McNicol, the principal of Tauranga Primary School, and have no issue at all with the changes she has asked of us. We are committed to being a good neighbour which includes being receptive to the community."
