By MIKE MATHER in Rotorua
Rotorua may seem a driver's paradise next to Auckland but Ngongotaha residents are not so sure.
Residents are becoming fed up with the gridlock that backs traffic up Ngongotaha Rd, almost to the centre of the town, every workday morning.
Ngongotaha resident Ted Rogers said on a recent trip into the city his wife took 45 minutes to make a trip which in the past had taken no more than 25.
The problem was two lanes of traffic coming from Hamilton and Ngongotaha merging into a single lane at the Ngongotaha roundabout.
Because the Hamilton traffic has the right-of-way at the roundabout, the Ngongotaha traffic banks up.
"Why can't the road be four-laned from Ngongotaha to town?" he said. "You often see people getting so frustrated, they overtake on the median strip in the centre of the road. It's an accident waiting to happen.
"There are people coming from Ngongotaha who go all the way up Western Rd to beat the Ngongotaha roundabout.
"Maybe there should be traffic lights instead of a roundabout. That seems to be the only sensible solution."
Rotorua District Council state highways administrator Kevin Thompson said the congestion was a major problem for the city. However, the end was in sight for those fed up with the duration of their early morning commute.
"It's not just being caused by the roundabout. There has been a big growth in the amount of traffic coming from Ngongotaha," he said.
The situation was being exacerbated by the pedestrian crossing on Fairy Springs Rd, and recent road works on a side road.
"There are also some issues with traffic coming in and out of Point Rd."
However, plans were afoot to widen the road between the roundabout and Fairy Springs Rd at the point where it expands to four lanes sometime in the 2006-2007 financial year.
"That is if it all goes to plan," Mr Thompson said. "It's in Transit New Zealand's plan. We do sit in the priority order and we do have to appreciate that that order can change, depending on what is perceived as the biggest problem around the country."
In the meantime, the council would try to streamline the "pinch points" for traffic along the route. Road works would be carried out along the stretch only at night or during weekends and ways of minimising the disruption caused by the pedestrian crossing were also being looked into.
"People also need to start thinking about what time they come in to work, earlier or a little bit later.
"If you have the option, it could also be a good idea to think about an alternative route.
"People living in Hamurana or Mourea for example might want to think about coming in via Te Ngae Rd instead of through Ngongotaha."
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