Chapel Street /Cameron Road between Harington Street and Maxwells Road
This section includes one-way cycleways and shared paths from Harington Street to Maxwells Road, which was the preferred option by the public. One traffic lane heading towards Ngatai Road is proposed to be removed (from north of the Mobil site to Vale Street) to accommodate the cycleway/shared path, which modelling shows has no significant impact on traffic flow. Overall, we want to make it easier and safer for people walking, cycling, or driving with improved signalised intersections, crossing facilities and improved bus journey times at key locations.
You can view the proposed changes in the image below.
Chapel Street /Cameron Road between Harington Street and Maxwells Road (4mb pdf)
The proposed additional details and features include:
- Keeping the trees outside the Tauranga District Court was important for many during the first round of consultation. (These trees would have been removed with two-way cycleways or shared paths).
- One of the options being considered is to change the parking from angle parking to parallel parking between Harrington and Brown Street, which would reduce the number of available carparks overall in this area. However this would prevent people from reversing over the cycle lane. We will consult separately on this particular aspect as part of the wider parking plan for the city centre, which will include looking at options around provision of parking.
- The Brown Street intersection is proposed to provide signalised priority for buses and allow safe access for cars. Buses are currently experiencing up to 10-minute delays which will be improved with these changes.
Note: Between Brown and Chapel Street, an option of including a bus lane while accommodating left turning traffic onto Takitimu Drive is being further investigated.
- Bus stops are in-lane to allow buses to enter traffic easily. There is sufficient space for vehicles to pass in the adjacent lane, if deemed safe to do so.
- Upgraded bus stops and shelters.
- Maxwells Road intersection is proposed to become signalised. This will help with bus priority and address safety issues of people and students trying to cross the very busy Chapel Street. This will also improve driver access to and from Pillans Point School. There have been four pedestrian related crashes here with further near misses reported also. This is an area where the community provided feedback to improve safety and access.
- A city-bound bus queue jump is proposed for the Chapel Street/Maxwell Road intersection. Dedicated bus lanes and priority at key intersections will allow buses to move past queued traffic and ensure bus services are frequent, reliable and get people where they need to go.
- For safety reasons, access to Maxwells Road is proposed to be left in and left out only. A centre island will be placed to reinforce the no right turn from Chapel Street into Maxwells Road if heading to the beach and the no right turn out from Maxwells Road (beach side) onto Chapel Street.
- People wishing to access the Bureta shops from the Maxwells Road area can do so safely at the Ngatai Road and Chapel Street intersection.
- We received feedback about the missing footpath link from the Chapel Street/Maxwells Road intersection to the estuary path, which we have included in the scope of the project.
Maxwells Road, Andrew Place and a section of Pillans Point Road
As an identified Neighbourhood Street area, we want to make it safer for students and residents who live here. For this reason, in Maxwells Road, Andrew Place and a section of Pillans Point Road we are proposing safety improvements to encourage slower vehicle speeds, including raised speed tables. Additional planting will be provided in key locations to enhance amenity within the area.
Feedback received did not support a permanent 30km/h speed limit but supported a 30km/h school zone during school times. The proposal is to provide a 30km/h speed limit in the school area during school times only to make it safer for students.
You can view the proposed changes in the image below.
Maxwells Road, Andrews Place and a section of Pillans Point Road (3mb pdf)
Ngatai Road between Maxwells Road to Ōtūmoetai roundabout
Based on previous public feedback, a two-way cycleway is the preferred option and has the least overall impact on pedestrians and businesses by retaining as much parking as possible. The two-way cycleway is on the harbour side of Ngatai Road. This allows the retention of parking on the opposite side of the road.
New traffic lights are proposed at key intersections, which will make it safer and easier for drivers and pedestrians to access Ngatai Road from side roads.
Overall, the modelling predicts that this project does not significantly increase the travel time experienced by drivers through the area. There are some key locations where modelling indicates there would be an increase in queue build up, such as creating a signalised intersection at the Ngatai Road/Ōtūmoetai Road roundabout. Because through traffic must stop to allow traffic entering from side roads and allow people cycling or walking to cross safely, this means that there could be up to a 90-second delay. Our model predicts that these queues are generally quick to build up and clear again.
You can view the proposed changes in the image below.
Ngatai Road between Maxwells Road to Ōtūmoetai roundabout (2.6mb pdf)
The proposed additional details and features include:
- New traffic lights at the intersection of Ngatai and Bureta Roads to improve access and safety. Community feedback showed people were concerned about safety and access here. There have been 16 injury crashes involving 13 drivers, two cyclists and a pedestrian in this area. We want to make it safer.
- New traffic lights are proposed at the Ōtūmoetai/Ngatai Road roundabout to improve access and safety across Ōtūmoetai Road. As traffic must stop to allow traffic entering from side roads and to allow people who are cycling or walking to cross safely, there could be a delay of up to 90-seconds.
- A city-bound in-lane bus stop is proposed near Short Street and Ngatai Road to give buses priority at this location. Traffic will need to wait for the bus to depart. Many of the other bus stop locations will be indented or are positioned to allow drivers to pass if safe to do so. A new bus stop location and on demand signalised pedestrian crossing is also proposed to improve safety and accessibility for people wishing to cross the road.
- For safety reasons, we are proposing to remove the slip lane at the intersection of Chapel Street and Ngatai Road. Access is maintained around 60 metres further along. We will be working with residents here to talk about the proposed design and how to get in and out of their properties along with how rubbish collections are intended to operate.
- One of the previously proposed options was to close the slip lane at the Chapel Street and Vale Street intersection. Following feedback and further review, the slip lane at Chapel Street and Vale Street will be maintained with safety improvements to encourage lower speeds and allow people to cross the slip lane easily and safely.
- The footpath on the beach side of Ngatai Road near #121 is intended to be closed, with a crossing provided for people to access the opposite side. We received feedback that the path is too narrow to accommodate two people passing each other in either wheelchairs or mobility scooters. The change encourages pedestrians, wheelchair users and mobility scooters to use the path on the opposite side of the road where enough space is provided while accommodating the two-way cycle path on the other side of the road.
- Undergrounding of power lines may be needed near 121 Ngatai Road and will be confirmed through the detailed design stage of the project.
Note: We have worked hard to retain parking between the Chapel Street intersection with Ngatai Road and the Bureta shops. There are nine carparks to be removed on the harbour side where the new cycleway and bus stops will be placed. On the opposite side of the road 16 carparks will remain. There will still be plenty of parking on surrounding streets for staff to park. These specific roads are needed to enable more people to travel through using more transport options.
Bureta Road shopping centre
Public feedback on the 30-year plan for Ōtūmoetai Peninsula (Take me to the future: Ōtūmoetai 2050), reinforced that shopping centres should be accessible for everyone, pedestrian friendly and safe to use. The following changes are proposed to make the area safer and easier to move around:
- A 2.5m shared path is proposed to connect from the Bureta Road and Ngatai Road intersection to the Bureta Road and Vale Street intersection. This enables better access for people due to space constraints. Five carparks close to the intersection would be removed.
- A pedestrian crossing on a raised safety platform would make the area more accessible and safer to access the shops. Landscaping is also proposed. The raised pedestrian crossing would help to make people crossing easier to see and facilitate eye contact between pedestrians and drivers.
- Three carparks would be removed to accommodate the crossing.
- Bus stops and shelters would be upgraded.
- There are currently 50 carparks around the Bureta Road shopping centre. Eight carparks would be removed to enable the shared path and the pedestrian crossing.
You can view the proposed changes in the image below.
Bureta Road shopping centre (2.6mb pdf)
Ōtūmoetai Road roundabout to Norton Road
To improve safety and accessibility we are proposing that the Ōtūmoetai roundabout become a signalised intersection to improve access from side roads for drivers and enable people cycling or walking to cross safely.
To enable the traffic signals to be installed, we propose to remove some trees at the Ngatai Road/Ōtūmoetai roundabout. There will be significant opportunities to replace these trees and provide improved landscaping in the area, which would be further developed through the detailed design.
We also received feedback that we need to improve accessibility and safety along Ōtūmoetai Road.
In response we are proposing some changes:
- Along Ōtūmoetai Road, cycle lanes are proposed to Norton Road
- The pedestrian crossing near 486 Ōtūmoetai Road is proposed to be on a raised safety platform to make the area more accessible and safer to access the shops and buses. The raised pedestrian crossing slows approaching vehicles down and helps make it easier to see people crossing or waiting to cross.
- Bus stops and shelters would be upgraded.
- A new pedestrian crossing on a raised safety platform near 475 Ōtūmoetai Road is proposed to make it safer and easier to cross the road to access bus stops and the shops.
- As a result of these changes, 13 carparks would be reduced to seven. No car parking changes are proposed on Cherrywood Drive.
Note: The community has also asked for improved safety and accessibility for people cycling or walking to connect to Beach Road from the Ōtūmoetai roundabout. In the future, Council needs to strengthen part of the railway overbridge and make improvements between the roundabout and Beach Road. These works will be consulted on separately to this.
You can view the proposed changes in the image below.
Ōtūmoetai Road roundabout to Norton Road (2.6mb pdf)