Tauranga City Council calls public meeting over Bayfair Underpass

Tauranga City Council, the Sustainable Business Network and the Bayfair Underpass Alliance have called a public meeting to discuss ways to get the construction of a cycle and pedestrian underpass under the Baypark to Bayfair link back on the New Zealand Transport Agency's agenda.

The meeting on Monday in the Mount Maunganui College Hall at 5.30pm.

Mayor Greg Brownless said the council has been encouraging the agency to hold a public meeting to discuss its decision not to proceed with the underpass, which it has estimated could cost in the vicinity of $33 million.

"Those efforts have got us nowhere so far, so we're looking to get everyone who has an interest in the underpass together to talk about a way forward before it's too late," he said in a statement this afternoon.

"My position throughout this process has been that the underpass should remain. It's vital that we have an efficient way of getting pedestrians and cyclists across Maunganui Road without adversely affecting traffic flows. That will require a grade-separated solution and we want to hear the community's views on what that solution should look like."

Transport agency representatives have been invited to attend, as have local MPs.

Speakers including Glen Crowther (regional manager of the Sustainable Business Network), Tauranga City Council and Bayfair Underpass Alliance representatives will provide background on the existing situation and the issues that would be created if a grade-separated crossing is not reinstated.