Tui ads copied in Westridge protest

Tui's popular beer billboards have been harnessed by a Westridge resident to help galvanise public opposition to Tauranga City Council's plan to funnel an extra 2568 cars a day through the lifestyle subdivision.

The caustic signs at Westridge Drive's intersection with Cambridge Rd went up on Tuesday night, quickly gaining momentum in social media and on websites.

Westridge residents are united against the proposal to use Westridge Drive to access a planned 240-home subdivision on neighbouring Smiths Farm.

Subdivision resident Doug Hendry declined to name the person who put up the signs, saying only that he was not a member of the campaign committee that was leading the protest.

Mr Hendry defended the message behind the signs even though the quotes were not taken directly from council consultation material.

"He is paraphrasing, but that is pretty much what they said."

The report commissioned by the council said the intersection of Cambridge Rd and Westridge Drive was expected to operate satisfactorily as it would be experiencing less traffic than the intersection of Cambridge Rd and Moffat Rd and other Tauranga intersections along Cameron Rd. There would be a potential increase of 2568 vehicles a day using Westridge Drive.

Mr Hendry said the report also stated that the effects of residential development on Smiths Farm would need to be mitigated on Westridge Drive to ensure the effects were no more than minor. However, he said the message was clear that the council did not feel adding more than 2500 vehicles a day to the intersection warranted anything more than minor tinkering.

"The council is saying that it was not dangerous enough that they needed to do anything significant about the intersection."

Mr Hendry said residents had safety concerns, particularly for right-turning traffic.

Residents were not opposed to a residential subdivision on Smiths Farm provided access went up a new access road to the Cambridge Rd/St Andrews Drive roundabout costing up to $3.5 million.

Council strategic planner Andrew Mead said the quotes on the signs were not quotes from the council.

"We have been asking for the community's feedback and they are being generous with their opinions. It was evident at last week's community open day that there are concerns from residents around access for the proposed development."

Mr Mead said the council was seeking two-way dialogue about options for Smiths Farm and that residents would use the on-going consultation to share their feedback.

"The signs shouldn't really be there. Our process with unauthorised signs is that if they pose an immediate safety hazard we will remove them straight away, otherwise it's likely someone will try to have a chat with the residents and ask them to be removed," he said.