Lights to replace roundabout

9th Ave and Cameron Rd has been the location of 15 crashes in the past five years. Photo / File

Traffic lights will replace a roundabout at a Tauranga intersection which has been the location of 15 crashes in the past five years.

The intersection of Cameron Rd and 9th Ave has been the subject of a Tauranga City Council project to improve city safety, with the intersection highlighted as a problem area.

About 27,000 vehicles pass through the intersection each day. Of the 15 crashes at the roundabout, three resulted in injury, with all three victims considered to be vulnerable road users - a moped operator, a cyclist and a pedestrian.

Not included in those figures was cyclist Richard Schrama, who received a life-threatening injury when he slammed into a car door, severing an artery in his cheek, just past the roundabout two weeks ago.

Figures released from Tauranga City Council reveal 93 per cent of crashes happened on weekdays, with 33 per cent happening at night time.

Council transportation manager Martin Parkes said the roundabout ranked as one of the worst local road intersections in the city. "The project is needed to reduce the number and severity of crashes at this location," Mr Parkes said.

"Small roundabouts in busy urban environments with high traffic flows create safety issues for all road user groups. Drivers take more risks in these situations as they attempt to enter the circulating area, which in turn increases the risk of crashes occurring.

"These types of small roundabouts are also unsafe for vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, as cars tend to dominate the space."

The project will include cycle lanes and advanced cycle boxes - a green square with a white bike symbol painted at the front of the traffic queue.

These boxes are specifically for people on bikes to wait in when the lights are red. It gives cyclists a head start when the lights turn green, as well as increasing their safety by making them more visible to people in cars, Mr Parkes said.

Push button facilities will also be installed, providing safe crossing points for pedestrians.

Mr Parkes said the project was expected to go ahead as early as next year but there was no final design at this stage. This would be worked on over the next 6-9 months.

Head of Western Bay of Plenty road policing Ian Campion said the intersection was well known to police as being a troublesome spot.

"Certainly I'm aware that it is up there as a risk in terms of the intersection, as are a number of intersections around Tauranga, but some of those others ... already have traffic light changes to improve safety."

Road safety group

Tauranga City Council is a member of the Tauranga and Western Bay Joint Road Safety Committee, along with Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the NZ Police. This group promotes road safety initiatives across both Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty Council.

Funding for the various road safety campaigns and for the Travel Safe programmes comes from the NZ Transport Agency, with contributions from Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

- Tauranga.govt.nz