Traffic May Force Tauranga Airport Out

December 29, 2003

Traffic May Force Tauranga Airport Out
MyTown Bay of Plenty, New Zealand


ENORMOUS traffic pressure on Hewletts Rd over the next 20 years could end up 
being the final straw that forces Tauranga Airport to shift to Paengaroa. 

The future of the airport and its critical role in road planning was one of the 
main themes to emerge from a strategic roading funding workshop this month. 

A study is under way into the future of the airport by Environment Bay of 
Plenty, with the first phase of the study finding many benefits in a regional 
airport. 

A workshop of civic and business leaders was told that Hewletts Rd was the 
system's weakest link and would be in trouble again within eight years of being 
four-laned in 2007-08. Its problem was the large number of intersections and 
many businesses with direct access. 

Longterm transport planning included controversial proposals to funnel huge 
traffic volumes of road and rail traffic on to new arterial routes skirting the 
harbour side of the airport. 

Hewletts Rd's congestion woes will add to the pressure from those already 
eyeing the airport as a way to remedy the shortage of good quality commercial 
and industrial land in Tauranga. 

The Access strategic roading network manager John Hannah said the longterm 
capacity of Hewletts Rd was quite short, even after it had been widened. 
However, it would be a big call to shift the airport by 2016. 

Environment Bay of Plenty councillor Athole Herbert said work was being done on 
the three transportation corridors around the airport, including diverting the 
railway line. 

Tauranga District councillor Stuart Crosby said the future of the airport was 
critical to planning road and rail corridors. The issues and conflicts of the 
railway was tied up with the joint council's SmartGrowth study into urban 
intensification. 

He said the lead document for change would be the Regional Land Transport 
Strategy. 

Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Norm Bruning said the Access roading 
partnership should be refocusing on State Highway 29 as the route to the port 
to relieve congestion on central Tauranga. 

Tauranga Mayor Jan Beange said all forecasts assumed nothing would be done to 
dampen demand on roads. 

The workshop was told managing traffic demand would be critical to tapping into 
government funding. Walkways, cycleways and dampening demand by congestion 
pricing on commuter traffic (including tolls) were all highlighted as pivotal 
in the new funding regime of sustainability. 

``If we want the money we are going to have to jump through the hoops,'' Ms 
Beange said. 

Mr Herbert said patronage had grown 15 per cent this year on Tauranga's Bay 
Hopper bus service. But Mr Hannah said even if Tauranga got more people into 
buses than any other city in Australasia, there would still be problems. Buses 
would take little off the ballooning demand on roads. 

Tauranga District Council chief executive Stephen Town warned that as 
development intensified on Te Papa Peninsula, Cameron Rd would suffer the same 
problems as Hewletts Rd and eventually lock up. Currently, the council did not 
have a solution to Cameron Rd, he said. 

Mr Town said the council had to look at the whole network rather than 
individual components of it. 


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