Brendan Bisley says 6000 people use bus services on Links Ave every month, with two-thirds being schoolchildren. Photo / George Novak
Brendan Bisley says 6000 people use bus services on Links Ave every month, with two-thirds being schoolchildren. Photo / George Novak
An option to turn Arataki's Links Ave into a cul-de-sac will be considered following complaints the commuter rat-run route is dangerous for children walking and cycling.
But an advocate for making the street safer says a cul-de-sac would be "massive overkill".
In a meeting on Monday Tauranga City Council commissionersresolved to seek feedback from the community on the option - a result of a "safe system review" of the road - as one way to improve safety for vulnerable users by reducing traffic volume.
This would involve a cul-de-sac at one end of Links Ave or in the middle and would reduce traffic to only residents.
Buses would be allowed through the cul-de-sac in both directions but the full Links Ave bus lane would no longer be required. A 30km/h speed limit would be trialled for six months.
The council's director of transport Brendan Bisley said Links Ave was "not an easy corridor", with 6000 people every month using bus services on that street, with two-thirds being schoolchildren.
"If we were serious about safety, the best option is actually a reduction in traffic problem... that's the only one that gets the volume back to a point where you can safely mix vulnerable users and traffic."
He said residents wanted the bus lane removed, but this would significantly impact the reliability of bus services.
People also talked about buses being dangerous for vulnerable users, but Bisley said an accident between a ute or SUV and a vulnerable user "would likely be just as serious".
Tauranga City Council director of transport Brendan Bisley. Photo / George Novak
A disadvantage of the cul-de-sac would be additional travel time for commuters.
"A cul-de-sac adds a 5-10 minute delay in the morning peak on to Ocean Beach Rd and Maunganui Rd because effectively we're trying to move that traffic to other corridors that are already heavily congested," Bisley said.
Bisley later told the Bay of Plenty Times the council would work with the community and road users "to get an outcome that meets the community needs while achieving the safety outcomes".
Consultation may develop alternative solutions, which would also be considered before anything was implemented, he said.
"If the cul-de-sac was the preferred option after consultation, it can be implemented as a trial and the impacts assessed before a final solution is implemented."
Links Ave community representative Michael Dance said turning the street into a cul-de-sac would have a big impact but would be "massive overkill".
Dance had presented options to the council several times to address safety concerns on Links Ave but had been "totally ignored", he said.
Options included reverting the road design back to how it was before the bus lane was installed and re spray-painting the road.
"This [cul-de-sac] suggestion has come from the transport team based on one report and suddenly it's been embraced and implemented...Any other time we've talked to council and tried to bring options to the table it's like, 'well, we've got to have a consultation, it will take six months'..."
At the meeting, Commissioner Chair Anne Tolley said she saw the "rat run" on Links Ave every morning.
"I'm a motorist that uses those areas every day. If it costs me another five minutes to get to work against a serious injury or life of a school kid, I'll take that extra time."
"The safety of those kids is paramount," Tolley said.
Commissioner Stephen Selwood says there are serious safety problems with Links Ave. Photo / George Novak
Commissioner Stephen Selwood agreed with the direction of improving safety, but said "the issue of five to 10 minutes additional travel time on neighbouring roads is a key consideration".
Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston said local residents should be put first.
"While we've got issues on the wider network creating issues for these communities, we do need to focus on people who live here. Kids go to school in these communities."
After the meeting, Selwood told the Bay of Plenty Times there was "no easy solution".
"Part of the problem is many people are using Links Ave, understandably, as an alternative route through the congested area. But with the ... dedicated bus lane, buses and cars are too close to people biking and walking to school."
He said the community had told commissioners of a lot of "near misses" and they were "seriously concerned" about the safety of children and other road users.
"Ultimately, we've got to have a conversation with people who use the corridor and the people who live in and around the community to say these are the tradeoffs we have to consider, and there will be an impact on traffic if we make Links Ave safer.
"We [the commissioners] think safety is more important than time, though we totally understand the frustration that will create."
Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston believes the local residents around Links Ave should be put first. Photo / George Novak
The council sought a legal opinion on its powers to change bus routes set by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and was told it could not.
