In the survey, 98 per cent of Tauranga residents said traffic was an issue. Photo / File
In the survey, 98 per cent of Tauranga residents said traffic was an issue. Photo / File
Tauranga residents believe the city is now a worse place to live than last year, a survey has revealed.
And industry and community leaders aren't surprised that growing traffic congestion and frustration towards Tauranga City Council were the main reasons residents were unhappy.
The results were revealed by the Qualityof Life Survey, which canvassed residents under eight New Zealand councils — Tauranga, Auckland, Hamilton, Porirua, Wellington, Hutt City, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Slightly more than half of those surveyed in Tauranga said their perception of the city had soured compared to 12 months ago.
A whopping 98 per cent of the 526 people surveyed in Tauranga said traffic was an issue.
More than 30 per cent of people taking part said they felt people had no influence on the council's decision making. Just under 40 per cent said they only had a small influence.
Tauranga residents had the best mental health, along with those in Porirua, with about 76 per cent of the people surveyed rating their mental health as good, very good or excellent.
Mount Maunganui Ratepayers, Residents and Retailers president Michael O'Neill said the survey results were "totally understandable in the sense we are all suffering from traffic woes".
"We really need some infrastructural development and some modal shifts in the way we use our roads."
O'Neill said there were no surprises that residents were dissatisfied with the council.
"The council issues can only but improve. Hopefully, we will get democracy back in the next election."
Priority One chief operating officer Greg Simmonds. Photo / File
Priority One chief operating officer Greg Simmonds said there were challenges for Tauranga, particularly around housing affordability and transport congestion.
"The good news is there is now a clear plan in place and a structure with the new commission at Tauranga City Council to actually address those issues moving forward."
Simmonds said the mental health figures pointed to the "real resilience" of the Tauranga community. A combination of lifestyle factors contributed to good mental health levels, he said.
"That is very pleasing obviously to see that generally, people have very good mental health.
"We have good high sunshine hours, plenty of opportunity for an active outdoor lifestyle.
"More and more companies after the lockdown are much more proactive with things like flexible hours. A combination of these sorts of things probably helps people's mental health.
"It points to the real resilience of people in Tauranga."
Age Concern Tauranga general manager Tanya Smith said she was happy to see good levels of mental health across all age groups.
Greater Tauranga's Heidi Hughes. Photo / File
Transport advocacy group Greater Tauranga's Heidi Hughes said traffic was an issue as the city's layout forced people to be car-dependent.
"We are incredibly car-dependent, and it has just gotten worse and worse. I think we are car-dependent for a reason – the way our city has been designed and is continuing to be designed," said the former Tauranga City councillor.
"It is still a great place to live, but it could be way better without the traffic."
Bike Tauranga chairman Kevin Kerr. Photo / George Novak
Bike Tauranga chairman Kevin Kerr said he frequently heard traffic complaints from both cyclists and motorists.
"We hear frustration from people in cars, we hear frustration from people that they can't bike because there are no safe cycleways here. We are not achieving what we need to achieve, which is to reduce traffic congestion."
He said everybody should be able to get where they need to go comfortably, safely, affordably and in good time.
Tauranga City Council and council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley were contacted for comment.
