Opinion: Car-pools, park and ride mooted to solve Tauranga's traffic woes

Some Tauranga commuters face a 45-minute drive to work. Photo / George Novak

We're all becoming accustomed to the frustration of sitting in traffic.

What used to be a short commute to work is now taking 45 minutes or more for residents who live outside the city centre, such as Welcome Bay or Papamoa, and get caught up in traffic jams on a daily basis.

The increasing traffic on our roads is a symptom of the rapid population growth the city has experienced.

This time spent crawling along in traffic adds up over the course of a year, so it's pleasing to see plenty ideas being put forward to combat our traffic woes.

The latest involves a proposal to transform Baypark into a transportation and retail centre.

It would mean that residents of Tauranga's rapidly growing coastal suburbs could soon be leaving their cars at Baypark and catching the bus to work.

Strong support has emerged for the venue to become the city's first official park and ride spot for commuters. Many see the plan as a gamechanger to reduce the city's traffic congestion and parking problems.

Ideas are also being generated at a grassroots level. Residents in different suburbs are creating Facebook pages to encourage and co-ordinate car-pooling in the city.

Former Aucklander Josh Cole created one of the pages. He's seen the impact traffic issues have caused in his former city and doesn't want the same thing to happen here.

Hopefully such schemes take off. They provide a means to improve the traffic situation
until intiatives that encourage the use of public transport, such as the Baypark proposal, are in place.