Forestry companies to keep log trucks off Kerikeri roads at peak times

Some Kerikeri residents fear logging trucks could become a common sight on the town's already congested roads. Photo / File

Forestry companies have agreed to keep their trucks off Kerikeri roads during school start and finish times, when logging starts near the town later this month.

Northland Forest Managers is about to start trucking logs from private woodlots via Riddell Rd and Shepherd Rd, which are no-exit residential streets, then Cobham Rd, Hobson Ave and Kerikeri Rd to State Highway 10. The company expects a maximum of five truck movements a day.

Far North Mayor John Carter said time restrictions brokered by the council would prevent log trucks travelling through Kerikeri before 9am or after 2.30pm to reduce disruption for schoolchildren and parents on school runs. The company would also restrict its vehicles to 30km/h on residential streets, he said.

A similar deal had been struck with forest management company PF Olsen Ltd, which managed Waitangi Forest on behalf of its owners, the China Forestry Group.

PF Olsen had agreed to keep logging trucks off Inlet Rd and the busy Cobham Rd-Hobson Ave route from 7.30am-9am and after 2.30pm daily. Most of its trucks are expected to run from 5.30am-7.30am. Logs from Waitangi Forest will be transported to Waipapa Pine's sawmill.

Carter said the agreements aimed to safeguard children and reduce traffic congestion and noise, while also recognising the role forestry played in employment and the Far North economy.

Residents had been expressing concerns about traffic congestion in Kerikeri and some were also worried about the impact of logging trucks from Waitangi Forest, he said.

"I want to assure residents their concerns are being treated seriously and that considerable behind-the-scenes work is already underway to minimise the impact of logging traffic."

Three major roading projects aimed at reducing congestion or diverting traffic from central Kerikeri were dropped from the council's 2018-28 Long Term Plan, but Carter said that didn't mean they had been shelved for good.

The projects were a southeastern bypass linking Mill Lane and Maraenui Drive (estimated cost $20.5m), a Kerikeri ring road joining Butler Rd to Clarke Rd ($1.4m) and a Waipapa Rd-Kapiro Rd link ($16.7m).

Instead, the council would develop a strategy addressing key transport issues across the whole district to be included in the 2019-20 Annual Plan. Funding for the Kerikeri projects would be reallocated once the District Transport Strategy was finalised.

Kerikeri Transport Action Group spokeswoman Julie Clearwater welcomed the agreement by the council and logging firms.

However, in the long term the council should look at building a bypass all the way to SH10 instead of just from Mill Lane to Maraenui Drive. The council's proposal would send heavy traffic through residential areas and create new bottlenecks, she said.

Carter said harvesting in Waitangi Forest was not to due to peak for at least 10 years, giving the council ample time to complete the transport strategy and any road improvements it identified.

He commended PF Olsen and Northland Forest Managers for working with the council to reduce the impact of their activities.

PF Olsen regional manager Logan Negus said most timber from Waitangi Forest would be trucked out from the Haruru Falls side of the forest. Some parts of the forest, however, could only be accessed from Kerikeri Inlet Rd.