Traffic regularly backs up for kilometres down Cameron Rd while waiting to get through Greerton. Photo / George Novak
Tauranga retailers and residents caught in the middle of a council overhaul of a village centre say they are feeling let down and forgotten.
In October 2018, Tauranga City Council redesigned the roading layout at Greerton Village in a bid to slow traffic and retain a "village feel". Four lanes were whittled to two, car parking spaces were removed and a pedestrian crossing was moved closer to the Chadwick Rd roundabout.
Within a month of roadworks beginning, business owners said they had lost as much as 80 per cent of their revenue as traffic ground to a standstill and customers avoided the area. The impact on the community prompted a petition of several hundred signatures calling for the council to remedy the situation.
In May 2019, consultant Derek McCoy offered several recommendations, including returning the pedestrian crossing to its previous location and reinstating two-lane entries to the Cameron Rd and Chadwick Rd roundabout. Potentially reopening a right turn for Cornwall St traffic at Cameron Rd was another option.
Today, the Bay of Plenty Times can reveal the council has made little headway on the matter, 17 months since that meeting.
The council had defended the delay, citing Covid-19, while Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell said the council would fix the issue, which he described as a legacy from the former council.
Director of transport Brendan Bisley said in a written response that staff were expected to report back to the council with "proposed next steps" and more work was needed to identify the steps and whether the changes were worth pursuing.
"We will need to return to the Greerton community to inform the next round of discussions,'' he said.
"We'll need to be clear about what we're trying to achieve with any changes in the short term, noting that a future project will look at how Cameron Rd functions between Barkes Corner and the hospital."
When asked why this was taking so long, Bisley said: "Greerton Village needs to be considered as part of the whole Cameron Rd corridor and not changed in isolation to the wider route.
"We need to look at how the whole corridor will cater for the growth of the city and the needs of the suburbs already built along Cameron Rd. A study will get under way next year to do exactly that. The best layout for Greerton should be considered as part of the study of Cameron Rd from the hospital to Barkes Corner."
No changes to the current layout were planned anytime soon, he said.
Artisan Manufacturing Jewellers' Andrew Lin said he still received complaints from customers every day, "five to six a day, at least".
"They say: 'when is the council going to change it? What a stuff up, etc' but we seem to get the blame for it. The council hasn't been around for a long time."
Lin said he felt let down.
Greerton Lotto's Tom Walsh said he had seen emergency services struggling to get through the congestion, including an ambulance with the siren on but sitting stationary.
"That's how slow it gets."
In his view, it seemed the council had moved on.
"We've just resigned ourselves to it. Sure there's more traffic and congestion out there but this is self-inflicted, by the council," he said.
Greerton Lotto's Belinda Sands said she knew people who didn't come to Greerton Village anymore because of the congestion and drove around it. A trip to Mount Maunganui from Greerton earlier this week took her an hour and a half, she said.
Sands said she had not heard a word from the council since last year's elections. She said previous elected members Greg Brownless and Terry Molloy were more involved.
When the Bay of Plenty Times visited two years ago, Hong Kong Restaurant & Takeaways owner Carl Young and Jake Park from Master J Sushi each said they were struggling to keep afloat and blamed the roadworks at the time. Master J Sushi had since closed.
Another two businesses that also said the construction was impacting them negatively have since sold.
Greerton Rd resident Carol Cullen said traffic regularly backed up along her street as more motorists diverted down back residential roads to avoid the Cameron Rd congestion.
She said she and neighbouring residents used to wait at Sheppard
St to get on to Cameron Rd to travel to town but the traffic was now so thick, they travelled in the opposite direction into Greerton Village's Chadwick Rd just to be able to turn right on to Cameron Rd.
"It's ridiculous."
Cullen said she felt the council had washed its hands of Greerton.
"We are feeling a bit forgotten about really."
She questioned how a recent council decision to pursue higher-density housing in the area was going to work if the roads were already unable to cope with the population.
Allan Fletcher
also lives on a back road that has "become a thoroughfare" and he also travels kilometres out of his way into the village just to join northbound traffic on Cameron Rd.
Fletcher said he believed the council had made the road "terrible" and moved on with no plans to remedy the works.
"It's just been put in the too-hard basket."
Former Greerton resident Janette Comer said the traffic situation was "crazy" and the council needed "to fix it because it will get worse".
Greerton resident Jason Tari said he would like to see double lanes return to keep people moving. He said he was among those who avoided the area while driving.
Resident John Baxter said the redesign was "terrible" and Cameron Rd needed to be four lanes.
"It was better before ... "
Most people spoken to about the roading issue raised concerns at the city's increasing population and the road's inability to cater for it. Most also accepted the design but wanted the crossing returned to its original location.
In response to the criticisms, Bisley acknowledged a lack of communication with Greerton, saying the council planned to talk with the community earlier this year but was disrupted by Covid-19.
The council was working on a new timeframe for this soon, he said.
The council this month resolved to pursue higher-density housing in the Te Papa area, which included Greerton, and this also involved road redesign to include multi-modal options such as rapid bus lanes.
Mayor Powell said he believed the council needed to consult anew with the local community.
In his opinion, the "failed design" was foisted on Greerton by the previous council and "it will be my council who reviews it as part of a strategic transport and urban housing plan", he said.
"Our consultation with Greerton residents and business owners will incorporate an overview of the Te Papa strategy so they remain transparently informed," Powell said.
Motorists should avoid SH2 East between Stanley Rd and Fraser Rd.