Michael Dance says there needs to be immediate action to keep school children safe from buses using a bus lane near a shared path on Links Ave. Photo / File
Michael Dance says there needs to be immediate action to keep school children safe from buses using a bus lane near a shared path on Links Ave. Photo / File
Bus drivers who "whip down" a busy Mount Maunganui road just metres from school children have prompted plans to bring in a variable speed limit for the area.
Links Ave residents have long raised safety concerns with the council, particularly around children heading to and from school, after changes inrecent years in the roading layout, which includes a designated bus lane.
Tauranga City Council commissioners last month promised anxious residents they would look into the issue, after the residents told the council in a meeting that they were losing patience.
Links Ave was not part of the original 10 roads expected to have speed limits reduced by Tauranga City Council, however, commission chairwoman Anne Tolley asked whether a temporary solution could be found.
The proposed changes involved Ohauiti Rd; Kaitemako Rd; Welcome Bay Rd; Pyes Pa Rd; Oropi Rd; Parton Rd; Tara Rd; Domain Rd; Papamoa Beach Rd/Maranui St; and Totara St.
They also involved proposed variable speed limits of 40km/h at school drop-off and pick-up times outside Aquinas College; Tauranga Intermediate School; Matua School; Golden Sands School; and Taumata School.
BOP_speed_limits_v3
On Monday, commissioners visited Links Ave ahead of the council meeting.
Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley told council staff at the meeting: "What we saw this morning was pedestrians and cyclists and people on skateboards, scooters and all sorts but that's not in this list, so the first real question I have is why? Given this is an issue in front of the council for three years I was really disappointed to see it wasn't included in those 10 roads ... can we find a temporary solution?"
Tolley told council staff she was particularly concerned about the swift speed at which buses travelled along the bus lane.
"They whip down that lane ... right next to young people on scooters, doing all sorts of things young people do."
Tauranga City Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley questioned what the point of some proposed speed reductions were, and why Links Ave wasn't included. Photo / File
General manager of infrastructure Nic Johansson told commissioners: "I'm disappointed to hear this. We've been working with the regional council, who are very very aware of the issues, particularly on Links Ave, and who have had their drivers under strict instruction as to how to behave and what speeds to travel at, so there's an action for us to take away immediately to make sure that message is heard and passed to the drivers."
Acting director of transport Russell Troup told commissioners the 10 proposed speed reductions were on streets that "we can just get on with", not needing to go through a larger, longer process. Most speeds also did not reflect their surrounding environment anymore.
Tolley and commissioner Stephen Selwood also questioned proposed reductions to Totara St and Papamoa Beach Rd, saying it was hard to reach the speed limit on Totara St during peak times and Papamoa Beach Rd had the beach on one side of the road, with few intersections.
Tolley said: "I'm not quite sure from this - other than in front of schools - what it is we are trying to achieve."
Transport team leader Clare Cassidy said the point of the lower speed limits was to make streets safer for people and bring urban speed limits into alignment with 50km/h zones as encouraged by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
Selwood suggested introducing a variable speed limit for Totara St.
Totara St's speed limit is 60km/h and plans to drop this have been canned in favour of potentially introducing a variable speed limit in the future. Photo / File
Bay of Plenty Regional Council Public Transport Committee chairman Andrew von Dadelszen was with commissioners at Links Ave but told the Bay of Plenty Times he did not see any buses speeding.
Von Dadelszen said the meeting was positive and constructive and while he did not believe bus drivers were being irresponsible, the proximity of moving buses to path users was a concern that needed addressing.
Links Ave community representative Michael Dance said they were encouraged by the commissioners who "confirmed this is an issue they are taking seriously as we are, which is a change from the council a year ago".
"At last, we are finally being heard and heard from the top."
Dance said the proximity of path users to moving buses was a real risk that needed an immediate solution. The urgency was heightened by upcoming school zone changes, which could push more students through the corridor,
Dance said he appreciated a wider design solution could take time "but for now we need a Band-Aid that keeps kids safe. This needs to happen quickly."
Plans to begin consultation on variable speed limits on Links Ave around the school were included in the council's recommendations, which were voted for unanimously by commissioners.
Totara St's proposed speed reduction was removed from the list and plans for a report to be produced on its safety risk were made instead.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council legal and commercial manager Jessica Easton said: "We have been working with NZ Bus and Tauranga City Council as part of broader concerns raised by residents about the functionality of Links Avenue."
