More than 140 Tauranga residents sign speed reduction petition

Frustrated Tauranga South residents are calling for speed reduction measures to slow motorists they say are using their street as a bypass.

Christopher Street Neighbourhood Support Group chairman Alex Emeny has lodged a petition he instigated with Tauranga City Council, which has been signed by 142 residents.

The petition was raised by the council's transport committee on Tuesday with discussions around installing speed humps in their section of the street.

Others residents are also calling for speed cameras to be installed at the 12th and 13th Ave corners of Christopher St.

Emeny said he was convinced speed humps would deter speeding motorists from using the street as a bypass to avoid two sets of traffic lights at 13th and 11th Ave.

"It's not just the increased volume of traffic, but it's the speed drivers are going, especially coming from 13th Ave and up the hill and over the top," Emeny said.

Emeny, who used a mobility scooter, said he and other residents were at serious risk of being hit as they exited their driveways, particularly at peak traffic times of the day.

"It would only take one of these vehicles to bowl me or someone else and we will have another fatality. It could easily be one of my grandchildren or a neighbour's child," he said.

Theodora O'Reilly and her husband Esmonde, who also signed the petition, said there had been a number of near misses and something needed to be done urgently.

"Some people are flying through here at 70 to 80km/h like this a race track," she said.

O'Reilly said her elderly mother now lived with her and it was "quite frightening" trying to cross the road, particularly during the peak morning traffic.

Transport committee member Terry Molloy said council staff would investigate the residents' concerns as part of an area-wide safety review in 2018/19 and report back to the committee with their findings.

Molloy said the matter would likely come back before the committee again for further discussion in October, once the report was available.

The officer in charge of traffic could not be reached for comment.