Kerikeri road closure plan tweaked after outcry over GP access

Kerikeri’s main street will be chokka with classic cars on Saturday as Cruz’n the Bayz makes its way around the Bay of Islands. Photo / Peter de Graaf

An outcry over plans to close off part of central Kerikeri for a car show this weekend — potentially stopping patients accessing after-hours GP care at The Doctors on Homestead Rd — has been resolved by temporarily allowing two-way traffic on a one-way street.

Kerikeri’s main street will be closed to traffic between the Hobson Ave roundabout and Fairway Drive from 11am to 4pm on Saturday for Cruz’n the Bayz, a rock‘n’roll-themed classic car, hot-rod and motorbike show.

Cruz’n the Bayz has been likened to Whangamatā’s famous Beach Hop, but it will visit 10 Mid North towns over three days instead of staying put in one place.

The Kerikeri event will feature car and bike displays, competitions, kai and live music.

The road closure plan, however, sparked consternation among some Kerikeri residents because it would have made The Doctors inaccessible by vehicle.

It would also have caused access problems for residents of Fairway Dr, Amokura Dr and Golf View Rd.

During the closure, residents would have been able to leave the area but, due to the closure of half of Kerikeri’s one-way traffic system, driving home would have been impossible. The same would have applied for users of the Bay of Islands Golf Course.

A spokesman for Far North District Council said access issues had been resolved by temporarily allowing two-way traffic on the one-way stretch of Fairway Dr.

Stop/go traffic control would allow motorists to enter Fairway Dr from Kerikeri Rd and travel “the wrong way” to access all of Fairway Dr, Amokura Dr and the golf course.

They could exit Fairway Dr the normal way using the stop/go controls at the Kerikeri Rd intersection.

People who needed to access the doctor’s clinic would also enter Fairway Dr from Kerikeri Rd and would then be diverted through the Bunnings carpark.

They could then exit by the normal Homestead Rd route.

From noon on Sunday, Cruz’n the Bayz action will shift to Waitangi Sports Grounds, opposite the Treaty Grounds, for a whānau fun day.

Apart from car and motorbike displays, attractions will include live music, a barbecue contest, a Miss ‘60s diva competition and a kids’ zone with bouncy castles and face painting.

The other towns on the itinerary are Ōpua, Kawakawa, Moerewa, Kaikohe, Paihia, Whangaroa, Kāeo and Russell. More than 150 cars are expected to take part. The three-day event is also a fundraiser for Hato Hone St John Ambulance.