Kerikeri traffic woes pile up

Kerikeri taxi firm owners Robyn and Alec Neale are not surprised that the town is in danger of becoming gridlocked.
The couple, and their other Kerikeri Taxi Shuttle and Tours drivers, have to face a mini-gridlock every afternoon as Kerikeri Rd becomes increasingly clogged with traffic.
The Far North District Council's Kerikeri Traffic Strategy Study has found traffic congestion at Kerikeri is heading towards a "potentially chaotic" situation unless major changes are made within the next few years.
Kerikeri's massive residential growth in recent years, coupled with projections of ongoing growth, meant that by 2015 congestion at Kerikeri could leave traffic flows at a virtual standstill - gridlock.
But the Neales say it may not take that long for the gridlock to jam the town as there are already signs of too much traffic and not enough roading, particularly between 3pm and 3.45pm on weekdays when parents picked up their kids from schools.
"It's already happening now and the worst time is between 3pm and 3.45pm. We don't like going out at that time especially if we have to turn right (from the company's King St base) into Kerikeri Rd," Mrs Neale said.
The taxi firm has been operating for almost two years, although the Neales have lived in Kerikeri for almost 13 years and have seen the traffic getting worse and worse.
"It was a fairly easy place to drive around then and mostly during the day now it's fun, but we take our lives into our hands from 3pm," she said.
A trip to the Kerikeri Airport, which means going through Kerikeri town centre, normally takes no more than 10 minutes, but the same ride during rush hour could add up to an extra 15 minutes.
Mrs Neale said one of the main problems was that there were only really two ways in an out of Kerikeri - Kerikeri Rd and Waipapa Rd - and she urged the FNDC to designate land for an alternative route in and out of the town.
She said recent "improvements" to the town centre actually caused traffic to bottleneck - particularly if a vehicle was trying to turn right off Kerikeri Rd - and caused further delays.
The Neales were pleased that the FNDC would be coming up with a solution to the problem and hoped the community would be involved.
FNDC Mayor Yvonne Sharp said given Kerikeri's level of traffic congestion, the council had to implement improvements to the existing roads within the next two to three years and ensure long term solutions.
These included the development of several by-pass options to take the pressure off Kerikeri Rd and the roading links in the central business district, Mrs Sharp said.
"Within the next two to three months we expect to be in a position to have the options refined to a point at which we can put a range of alternatives and preliminary costings before the council and the community for discussion and feedback."