Building our future. Cameron Road Stage 2

Tauranga is growing fast. Over the next 30 years, 15,000 more people will be living on the Te Papa peninsula. We also know that the wider Western Bay of Plenty is planning for an extra 280,000 people over the next 30-50 years.

That means we need to start work now to transform the area into a place where more people can live, work and play.

Existing congestion, ageing infrastructure and a city built on peninsulas means we need to do things differently to prepare for change. If we do nothing, road congestion is set to stay – and worsen.

Cameron Road is one of our city’s main arteries, connecting people in Tauranga’s southern suburbs to the city centre. It is an important through route and a destination for many with schools, businesses and the hospital located along it. As our city continues to grow, this key route will become even more important. This is why we need to make changes now.

The Cameron Road Stage 2 project will also open up the opportunity for extensive development in the western area of the city, linking people from the west to the city centre and beyond, contributing to Tauranga’s economic growth and prosperity.

We’re working with our regional and central Government partners, local residential and business communities and tangata whenua to ensure we get it right. The future starts now, but it’s going to take time.

We started by investigating a wide range of different solutions that aim to provide more travel options to the places people want to go, however they choose to get there - on foot, bike, scooter, catching a bus or driving.

We have been working with local hapū and talking to community organisations, residents, schools and businesses to get an understanding of the things that are important to them. We have taken the things people have told us they love, wish, and wonder for the future of Cameron Road to develop a preferred option with a focus on specific outcomes that can improve Cameron Road for those that live, study, work and travel through here.

The business case has been revised and we will continue to engage with the community about any proposed changes.

The upgrade to the section of Cameron Road between Harington Street and 17th Avenue (Stage 1), needed a different focus from the section between 17th Avenue and Cheyne Road, Pyes Pā (Stage 2).

As Stages 1 and 2 are within the same road corridor, there will naturally be some consistency and connectivity between the two stages. However, there are different communities, land use and aspirations for the future within Stage 2 that need to be recognised through the proposed upgrades. For example, Greerton Village has different needs from the area around Tauranga Hospital. For this reason, we are taking a fresh approach to this project to look at what is important to the communities within five distinct areas along this section of Cameron Road. There are some important goals for this project including improving safety for all users, acknowledging the history of the area, and recognising the importance of place. We are looking at ways to protect the sense of place and community, the cultural heritage and street greening, with safety for all users as the top priority. While there may be some similarities in parts, Stage 2 will not be a replica of the style of upgrades being constructed for Stage 1.

In some areas parking will be reduced or available at specific times only to fit all the ways that people travel along Cameron Road into the available space.

It is a balance and the team look to avoid taking away parking where possible or minimise the impact of taking parking out. A Parking Management Plan is an important part of the planning for Stage 2, which looks at a range of ways to better manage the parking available for all users.

In the coming years, the changes should bring benefits to local businesses once it is completed. The area will be safer and more attractive for people to walk, bus, bike, and enjoy spending time in. This means there should be more people in the area bringing more opportunities, more customers, and more business.

We acknowledge that construction is disruptive for businesses and customers. We will work closely with businesses to understand their concerns and minimise impacts as much as possible.

From our initial discussions, we heard from local businesses and the community about the importance of balancing movement and place through Greerton Village.

Some changes have already been made in the village, so this project seeks to improve these changes while recognising that Greerton Village is a centre with its own special sense of place, with retail and commerce where people can meet and socialise, as well as an important transport route connecting to the city.

This is dependent on how the business case and design stages progress, and we will continue to provide regular project updates.