Rotorua city bus stops on move

FILE

Rotorua's City Ride bus stop on Pukuatua St will soon be no more and is being replaced with three smaller bus stops around the city.

The new bus stops will come into operation on July 1 when the Bay of Plenty Regional Council changes bus routes through the city.

They will be located on the southern side of Arawa St outside Jean Batten Square, on the eastern side of Amohia St between Haupapa St and Pukuatua St and the western side of Fenton St outside Cobb & Co.

The city's new bus route forms a loop along Fenton St, Arawa St, Amohia St and Victoria St and will also include a stop in the Rotorua Central Mall.

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the changes at a meeting of the Rotorua Lakes Council's Strategy, Policy and Finance committee yesterday.

In his report the council's transport solutions director Stavros Michael said the district and regional councils had been working together to better address issues within the inner city.

Those issues were large gatherings of people at the Pukuatua St site, increasing the efficiency of bus services in the inner city, opening up more bus stop locations , the inclusion of Rotorua Central Mall in the routes and the ability for all buses to use the same route.

He said the Arawa St route would integrate local and regional bus services and provide convenient access to the library and council offices.

The Fenton St route would see the removal of the bus stop outside Cyclezone and would serve supermarkets and the mall.

Councillor Glenys Searancke said she was happy with the consultation and the new loop was much bigger than the one in place. However, she said the regional council did have some concerns regarding whether the buses would be able to stick to the current timetable.

Mr Michael said in his report that there were some concerns voiced by tenants and owners of businesses directly affected.

"Bus stops can cause problems at times with people gathering, which can affect business with negative connotations. The site with the most concern is in Amohia St.

It is not planned at this stage to provide a shelter here as there is a verandah for cover. It may be necessary depending on demand at the site to provide some shelters in the future. The actual site is designed to allow this which would tend to have people waiting away from shop frontages."

Mr Michael said the council had allocated $100,000 in its Annual Plan for the re-location of bus stops and the work also qualified for funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency.