Mixed views on roundabout change

Greerton Liquor owner Karamjid Kaur is looking forward to the new traffic lights, hoping they ease afternoon traffic.

Retailers near a busy Greerton roundabout set to be replaced by traffic lights are split on whether it will reduce the daily congestion.

The intersection of Chadwick Rd and Cameron Rd will be transformed in May next year.

Tauranga City Council hopes it will improve traffic flows and make the intersection safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

But when the Bay of Plenty Times checked in with locals this week, the reaction was split down the middle.

Greerton Liquor owner Karamjid Kaur could not wait for the intersection to be changed.

"It's a good idea for everyone ... The traffic is too bad.

"The traffic lights will be easier, and I think we need the pedestrian crossing as well. I see a lot of older people trying to cross."

Mrs Kaur had owned the store on the corner for four years but said the traffic had got worse in the past two.

She said there was traffic congestion in the area from 4.30pm onwards.

However, across the road at The Gee C, bar manager Pahe Luttenberger did not think traffic lights would solve the problem. "The problem is the bottleneck after the roundabout ... It's that two lanes into one," he said.

"Personally I'd keep the roundabout and have a look at the road ... But at least you're going to have a clear intersection and it'll definitely be safer."

New Hong Kong restaurant owner Carl Young worried the traffic lights would further congest an already busy road.

"If there's traffic lights and they're red or yellow they'll stop all the way along Cameron Rd.

"At the moment the roundabout can go quite smoothly."

A staff member at Greerton Village Beauty, who did not want to be named, did not think there was any reason the roundabout needed to be changed.

"I've been here a couple of months and haven't really noticed anything. You hear a lot of beeping though."

Council's transportation manager Martin Parkes said the Greerton roundabout had worked well for many years but traffic flows in that area were changing.

"Every intersection has different requirements for traffic and for the types of people who use it. Traffic lights are now the best option for this intersection." Construction will start in May next year.