Bid to ban traffic from Strand

City councillor Matt Cowley

A bid to improve the declining fortunes of Tauranga's downtown with a big traffic revamp has drawn cautious support.

City councillor Matt Cowley's plan to turn The Strand into a car-free precinct for al fresco dining has won cautious support from two well-known bar owners.

Mr Cowley said the overall positive response was tempered with people wanting to engage more on the details of his plan. It would also see the lower block of Wharf St turned into full pedestrian dining precinct instead of narrowing it to one-way traffic later this year.

Colin Milne of the Crown and Badger said a lot of the people he talked to liked the idea of turning The Strand into a pedestrian precinct.

"I don't see any need for cars to come down here. It would improve the ambience of the place."

However, he said it would not resolve the problem of people not being able to find a convenient carpark.

Tautea Tocker of the Cornerstone Pub said closing The Strand to traffic would be a good idea during weekends from 6pm to 6am, including winter. "But I am not too sure about shutting it all of the time."

He said people were nosy and liked driving past to get a feel of what was going on.

Mr Tocker also saw merit in The Strand becoming one-way, saying it would allow half the road to be opened up for dining. "The council should definitely be looking at it."

Cr Cowley's plan would see motorists encouraged to use the Durham St/Harington St circuit, tapping into the existing and planned carpark buildings. There were less than 10 carparks left on The Strand.

Closing the main blocks of The Strand to traffic meant Red Square could be opened up to cars, so they could circulate around the Devonport Rd/Grey St blocks. Otherwise it risked people getting frustrated if they were unable to find a park on Devonport Rd and The Strand extension.

He was not proposing anything too far from the status quo for Grey and Durham streets because of uncertainty about what was proposed for bus services.

Cr Cowley said it was an opportune time to look at car movements, because a lot of development options were up in the air, including the council's civic block.

The last council removed planning restrictions to encourage high-density mixed use developments involving commercial, retail and residential. This council has put aside $4 million to improve streetscapes in conjunction with new developments.