What we're asking
The survey asks for your thoughts on:
- the overall plan for the city centre street upgrades over the next 10 years
- making the one-way street Movement Pilot permanent and whether we should consider making similar changes to some other streets.
City centre street upgrades
This map shows the streets we're looking to improve between now and 2034.
The survey asks which streets you think are priorities for upgrades and how we can make them better places to spend time in and move around.
In Council documents, these upgrades are part of the so-called Streetscapes Programme, which aims to:
- encourage more people to spend productive time in the city centre
- help develop the city centre into a great place to live, work, play and learn
- provide people with more choice for moving to and around our city centre
- create a value-for-money plan for bold, enticing and vibrant city centre streets.
Streetscapes can include features such as:
- footpaths
- vehicle lanes and parking
- landscaping and trees
- streetlights
- street furniture (such as benches)
- bike lanes and stands
- street dining
- signage and wayfinding
Movement Pilot
The two-year Movement Pilot was introduced to parts of Harington, Hamilton, Wharf, Spring and Willow streets in March 2024.
Part of Harington Street later reverted to two-way traffic based on public feedback.
The Pilot aims to support walking, cycling and safer motoring for people of all ages and abilities during a busy period of development.
The extra space created by the one-way streets is being used for wider footpaths, plant boxes, street art and other ways to make the city centre more attractive and accessible.
It also makes traffic movements more predictable around the many new developments taking shape in our city centre.
We're proposing to make the one-way system permanent to lock in these benefits.
We also think it's the best way to manage traffic once a section of Willow Street closes to most vehicles and becomes part of the new civic centre, Te Manawataki o Te Papa.
More detail
The vision
Our vision is to create a vibrant and well-planned city centre where people can live, work, learn and play.
This means changing the way we design and use our streets and public spaces.
A well-planned city centre has streets that are attractive, welcoming and great places to spend time in.
It’s important that people can move around our streets safely and can choose how to do so (e.g. walk, cycle, drive, bus).
Cost
The street upgrades are part of our Streetscapes Programme, which has a budget in our Long-term Plan 2024-34 of up to $83 million.
Note that we'll have to invest money into our city centre streets even if we don't upgrade them because some are 30 years old.
How we use your feedback
Your feedback will be reported to the mayor and councillors to help them make some decisions about these projects by the end of this year.
Later we'll start speaking in more detail with people who regularly use these streets before settling on our work programme.
Links
You can find out more about the Movement Pilot at letstalk.tauranga.govt.nz/keeponmoving
The City Centre Action and Investment Plan 2022-32 outlines the strategy and vision for many aspects of our city centre - including access and movement.
The Streetscapes Programme budget of up to $83 million between now and 2034 is included in our Long-term Plan 2024-34.
The mayor and councillors discussed how we should consult on city centre streets and the Movement Pilot at a Council meeting on 5 August. You can read the council paper and watch a video of the meeting on Youtube.