The shared pathway, on the right, is used by hundreds of schoolkids and is next to a lane of oncoming 50km/h traffic. Photo / George Novak
The shared pathway, on the right, is used by hundreds of schoolkids and is next to a lane of oncoming 50km/h traffic. Photo / George Novak
A "frustrated" Tauranga city councillor says she will force the issue of removing a controversial bus lane on to the council's agenda if staff don't act soon.
And another has called on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to "get the bloody buses off that road".
A group of parentswhose children use Links Ave in Arataki to walk and bike to school are calling on the council to remove a bus lane they say has made the street unsafe for hundreds of children trying to get to and from three nearby schools.
Disappointed by a lack of change, they returned this week with another presentation showing how close children on the shared pathway have to ride to oncoming traffic since the buffer of on-street parking was removed to make room for the bus lane on the opposite side.
In Tuesday's presentation, parent Michael Dance called on the council to "reinstate a minimum 1.5m segregation between moving vehicles and foot traffic".
"We need some immediate action. We'd like to see that in place by Monday, October 5 ... because the school term starts the following week."
Michael Dance, left, with other parents concerned about the layout of Links Avenue, and their kids. Photo / File
First-term councillor Heidi Hughes, who lives in Arataki and catches the bus from Links Ave, backed the call.
"This really frustrates me because I have been trying to get an engagement group together on this ... since the very first part of the year, and it hasn't happened," she said.
"I'd just like to foreshadow a Notice of Motion to take this bus lane off this route by the October 5.
"If we can't get any action from our council team to look at this seriously, then we'll just bring it into the next council meeting and I will put it through as a Notice of Motion."
The shared pathway, on the right, is used by hundreds of schoolkids and is next to a lane of oncoming 50km/h traffic. Photo / George Novak
A Notice of Motion is a means for elected officials to raise an item for consideration in a council meeting. Agendas are usually set by council staff.
In recent years the method has been used to put issues such as begging, parking and Wairakei Stream planting on the agenda.
Other members also indicated support for the parents' concerns.
"There is no doubt that we have got to deconflict buses and cyclists," Mayor Tenby Powell said.
"You've got my 100 per cent support ... It's a challenging solution to solve on the one hand and very easy on the other."
Councillor Steve Morris said the entire bus network was a failure and he did not believe the "30 second or so" saving gained by the bus lane on Links Ave was critical to the network.
Councillor John Robson said: "I think the community wants the buses off that road. The regional council need to get the bloody buses off that road."
In Tauranga, the city council is responsible for bus infrastructure - including bus lanes - and the regional council runs the network, which includes setting the routes.
Yesterday Nic Johansson, infrastructure general manager at Tauranga City Council, said the two councils would be meeting to further discuss the bus lane.
The regional council has refused to comment on or answer questions about Links Ave until it has a presentation from the parents' group at the next Public Transport Committee meeting.
A map of bus routes in Tauranga. Links Ave is just northwest of the Bayfair stop. Graphic / Baybus
Hughes told the Bay of Plenty Times on Thursday that she was all for getting people on buses, but in the case of Links Ave, the safety of vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists had to take priority.
She also said she believed there was a disconnect caused by having two councils running different parts of the public transport system, and the councils needed to work more closely together to make sure communities were being heard.
Andrew von Dadelszen, chairman of the regional council's Public Transport Committee, agreed better collaboration was needed.
He said there was no easy solution for Links Ave, but staff were working on a report expected to be heard in October, and the council was open to "finding a way forward".
"We want to work with the community to get a good resolution."
Bay of Plenty regional councillor Andrew von Dadelszen. Photo / File
In his personal view, he did not think moving bus routes off Links Ave to parallel Maunganui Rd/State Highway 2 (site of the major Bayfair to Baypark roadworks), as some have suggested, was a feasible option as children would have to cross the highway to use the bus and that was a safety risk.
Bus lanes are a fraught issue in Tauranga, one of New Zealand's fastest-growing and most car-dependent cities.
It has just three bus lanes: Links Ave, Hairini St and Hewletts Rd.
The city council added a fourth on 15th Ave, between Mayfair St and Scantlebury St, just over two months ago as part of major works on the route, but recently removed it as an interim measure to "help improve morning traffic flow".
Director of transport Brendan Bisley said the bus lane was still part of the long-term plan for 15th Ave, but the timing was not yet right.
