Athenree Action Group secretary Rhys Pearson supports a one-way system to cut congestion in Katikati's main street. Photo / Andrew Warner
Athenree Action Group secretary Rhys Pearson supports a one-way system to cut congestion in Katikati's main street. Photo / Andrew Warner
Western Bay residents sick of waiting for the Katikati bypass are pitching alternative ideas to save the town's main street from the curse of congestion.
The ideas came after the New Zealand Transport Agency said it would not consider building the bypass until 2028, and the Western Bay of PlentyDistrict Council decided to explore other options and funding mechanisms, including a ratepayer-funded build.
The Athenree Action Group proposed a one-way system to move half the traffic out of the village.
Group secretary Rhys Pearson said Main St's two lanes would be reserved for northbound traffic, with southbound traffic directed to parallel Carisbrooke St.
He said group members had driven the proposed one-way loop from Beach Rd to Fairview Rd and reckoned it would work, though they acknowledged it would increase traffic for Carisbrooke residents.
The idea was "doable for minimum cost" and could be a short-term measure until the bypass went in.
Pearson, a bus driver, said the group was motivated by frustration at the traffic on State Highway 2 between the two towns, which he reckoned had doubled in his 11 years in Athenree.
Some members had started shopping in Waihi rather than Katikati to avoid the congestion, even though it was further away.
The Katikati - Waihi Beach residents and Ratepayers Association pitched a shorter alternative bypass route by linking Henry Rd and Hyde St, dubbed the "shortass bypass".
Secretary Keith Hay believed the route, identified via Google Earth, would be much cheaper than the existing option, which Western Bay mayor Garry Webber has estimated would cost more than $100 million today.
Hay's back-of-an-envelope cost estimate for the association's option was $15 million to $25m, based on an old bypass costing of $50m, less new road being needed and no roundabouts.
Hay said the council should divert millions budgeted for new boat ramps and cycle lanes to investigate cheaper bypass options and get it built.
Webber said he would need to see hard data on an alternate route to convince him to support spending more ratepayer money before seriously looking into it.
The Katikati - Waihi Beach residents and Ratepayers Association proposes a shorter bypass mostly on existing roads. Graphic / Supplied
The existing route plan had been designed by traffic professionals and was not just "a line on a map".
He said the council would review options that had been previously proposed and rejected, and he was willing to hear all suggestions from the community.
However Webber was not sure ratepayers had an appetite to pay for the project themselves.
Western Bay of Plenty Mayor Garry Webber. Photo / File
Katikati Community Board chairwoman Jenny Hobbs said the council building it as a local road with a toll was the best option as the town needed a second local road for when the Uretara Stream flooded and blocked the highway.
She did not think putting thousands of vehicles a day on existing roads was the answer.
A one-way system would be "a disaster" for Carisbrooke residents already worried about the street becoming a "pseudo bypass" for speeding drivers.
Katikati Community Board chairwoman Jenny Hobbs. Photo / File
Using Henry and Hyde Rds would defeat the point of a bypass as "side friction" from driveways and side-road intersections would slow traffic down from 100km/h, making it less attractive for motorists.
She was also not sure about another resident's suggestion of building a tunnel through the Kaimai Range, as modelling had shown most of Katikati's traffic was not coming from Auckland.
In spite of decades of delays and uncertainty, interest in the issue remains high in the town.
Of almost 300 people who responded to a recent Katikati Taiao survey about environmental improvements in the village, more than two-thirds mentioned congestion, traffic pollution or the need for Main St improvements or a bypass.
