Connecting the people. Fifteenth Avenue to Welcome Bay

There is a need to invest in transport improvements in this area.

This is because the corridor has reached capacity at peak times and there is poor journey time reliability.

There is also:

• High reliance on private vehicles for journeys to work and education
• Unappealing walking, cycling and public transport choices
• Limited routes across the harbour, and a growing population that is creating more peak time congestion
• A need to address the wider housing supply issue for the Bay of Plenty
• A need to comply with Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan and targets.

The purpose of this business case is to develop a long-term investment plan to address these issues, improve access and enhance the place, amenity, and cultural values of the route.

People have identified a wide range of issues that they experience with transport in the area.

Summary of Engagement - July 2022 (57kb pdf)

• Moving people and goods – Limited routes across the Tauranga harbour, a growing population and lack of local employment, education, goods, and services has resulted in congestion at peak times. This is causing travel delays and increased carbon emissions.
• Transport choice – A lack of priority and poor-quality infrastructure for active and public transport modes has resulted in car-dependent communities. This makes it difficult to achieve carbon emission and mode shift targets.
• Severed communities – High traffic volumes and reduced access to and across the corridor has severed communities. This impedes access to key destinations (schools, marae, parks, and shops) and reduces social wellbeing and connectivity.

By investing in improvements, we are aiming for:

• Efficient access and movement - Increase the number of people in the area who are within 30 minutes of key social and economic opportunities in the morning peak hours.
• Improved choices – More people travel to school and work by walking, cycling or public transport.
• Improvements in our local environment – Improved quality and amenity of our local environment and reduction in carbon emissions.
• Ability to reflect Te Ao Māori and restore and build partnerships with local hapū - Changes would allow the development of Māori land, improve access to the harbour, improve sense of community and recognise cultural links to wāhi tapu.

Learn more about the transport challenges our city faces.

Connecting the people. Fifteenth Avenue to Welcome Bay is one of the key projects in the Western Bay of Plenty Transport System Plan - a shared transport vision for the region over the next 30 years to make sure transport projects are not done in isolation and that they work for everyone.

The TSP aims to support a projected population of 258,000 residents and 34,000 new homes, resulting in more than one million extra transport movements a day by 2050.

It is focused on generating a shift from cars to public transport, improving safety, providing reliable travel times for freight, and creating better walking and cycle connections. It also aims to increase public transport use, along with cycling and walking to help reduce transport-related greenhouse gas emissions and improve road safety.

Read more here

A business case is a document that provides the justification for initiating a project and is developed in collaboration with partners, stakeholders and the wider community. Key elements of a business case include clearly defining the problem we’re trying to solve and ensuring a wide range of potential solutions have been considered. It evaluates the benefit, cost and risk of alternative options and provides a rationale for the preferred solutions.

Read more here

Until a contractor has been appointed and the investigation work completed, the method of construction has yet to be decided, but it is possible that the corridor/Hairini Bridge will close for short periods of time to allow for work to be done. As any closure would have a major impact on the remainder of the transport network in Tauranga, this is a conversation we will have with the community as the project progresses. It is unlikely that any closures would be for long periods of time i.e. possibly a few weeks at a time rather than months.