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Accessible Streets - Otumoetai

Ara haumaru ki Ōtūmoetai

Accessible Streets for Ōtūmoetai Peninsula

We want to make it safer and easier for people in Matua, Bureta, Cherrywood, Ōtūmoetai, Brookfield, Bellevue, and Judea to cycle, catch a bus, or walk to key places, within the Ōtūmoetai Peninsula, as well as into the city centre.

We also want to improve safety for people driving. This includes making changes to Waihi Road and Chapel Street and Cameron Road towards Harington Street.

Public consultation on this project has now closed.

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback. You can still review the early design here, which has been developed. Over the coming months we will be working together with our partners through the feedback we have received and will update you on next steps later this year.

Why are we delivering Accessible Streets?  

We want to achieve the following benefits: 

  • Improved safety for everyone.
  • New separated cycleways designed for all ages and abilities.
  • Safer intersections and pedestrian crossings.
  • Better access to public transport and improved infrastructure.
  • Changes to road layouts to improve the safety of our streets, particularly around schools
  • Improved bus stops and bus shelters.
  • Improved bus journey or travel times at key locations.
  • There are social benefits active travel creates, including improvements to health, a reduction in household costs, and a reduction in emissions

Proposed changes include new road layouts in some places, introducing traffic lights at key intersections, new traffic calming measures and reducing speed limits around schools during school hours, bus priority measures, as well as removing some on-street parking along the routes and introducing a one-way system on Windsor Road in Bellevue in front of Ōtūmoetai College and Ōtūmoetai Intermediate School.

Read more about Accessible Streets

Why Ōtūmoetai Peninsula?

By 2050 the Western Bay of Plenty will be home to around 258,000 residents, which will create one million extra trips on our transport network every year. There is already significant congestion in places, and because our city is built on narrow peninsulas there isn’t room to build more roads.

The Accessible Streets project also supports the Ministry of Transport’s Road to Zero Strategy to improve overall travel safety, so no-one is seriously injured or killed in road crashes. Over the past five years, 112 people have been injured along the roads where changes are proposed, including people that were driving, cycling and walking. In addition, previous community feedback shows people want safer walking and cycling routes in this area. 

Skateboarders on Waihi Road

Due to the expected population growth on the Ōtūmoetai Peninsula and the large number of local trips that could be taken by foot, bus, bike, or scooter to school and work in the city, we need to look at providing safe, healthy and environmentally friendly transport options. While people will still travel by car, we also need to plan ahead to give our community better options. 

Map of the primary cycling, bus route and multimodal areas

We have identified the primary cycling and bus routes that will connect the Ōtūmoetai Peninsula to the city centre and Te Papa peninsula via Cameron Road at two central locations: Chapel Street and Waihi Road.

These two locations will be what is known as multimodal areas. A multimodal area is a road that supports the use of a number of different transportation modes such as cars, buses, pedestrians and cyclists. 

We are also proposing to have two neighbourhood street, or safer streets areas, which are proposed to include a range of  traffic calming methods around schools. 

Neighbourhood Streets overall map

What happens after this? 

 Community feedback will be considered as part of the development of a business case. We will also undertake an economic evaluation to determine if money invested would return the benefits we anticipate. This project will only proceed if the business case is considered feasible and approved for funding by Council and central government later this year.  

Previous community consultation

In August and September 2022, we asked the community and key stakeholders to tell us what they thought about options for cycleways and ways to help improve bus journey times and facilities in the community along each section of the identified primary cycle and bus routes.

Accessible Streets for Ōtūmoetai Peninsula - emerging preferred option with maps (716kb pdf) 
Accessible Streets for Ōtūmoetai Peninsula – Alternatives and Options Assessment (8mb pdf)
Accessible Streets for Ōtūmoetai Peninsula – Engagement report October 2022 (782kb pdf)

In 2020, people living in Brookfield, Judea, Bellevue, Ōtūmoetai  and Matua told the Whakahou Taketake Vital Update survey that they valued living close to parks, cycleways, walkways and reserves, and wanted better roading solutions, better public transport access, and safe cycleways.

Community consultation was also undertaken as part of the Take me to the future Ōtūmoetai 2050 to develop a 30 year plan for the area, which also showed good support for alternative ways to travel.

Key information

Project type
Transportation and movement
Community

Status
Planning

Neighbourhood
Matua-Ōtūmoetai

  • Consultation with mana whenua, key stakeholders, and the community to look at options to prepare a business case

    August – September 2022
  • Early design of preferred option

    November 2022 - April 2023
  • Consultation with mana whenua, key stakeholders and the community on the early design

    June - July 2023
  • Approval of the Tauranga City Council and Waka Kotahi business cases

    August - November 2023
  • Detailed design begins

    February 2024
  • Construction begins

    Late 2024 – early 2025 (construction to take place over 2-3 years)

Who's listening

Tauranga City Council

Email: accessiblestreets@tauranga.govt.nz
Phone: 07 577 7000

Other ways to get involved

Tauranga is your city. We’re working to make it even better.

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