This article dates November 2009 and some changes to these plans may have occurred since then:
Published below are the changes New Zealand Transport Agency is intending to make ahead of the major works for the Hairini Link, also viewable at an information day at Tauranga Boys’ College today from 4-8pm.
The plans include changes to the Fraser Street/15th Avenue intersection, where additional lanes are to be added for traffic turning from 15th Avenue into Fraser Street.
Some road adjoining 15th Avenue, including Turret Road, will be stopped and there will be new pedestrian crossings and cycleways to make clear pathways for schoolchildren and other commuters.
15th Avenue/Fraser Street intersection
Here is where the most significant changes will happen as part of the advanced works.
An extra lane will be constructed on 15th Avenue heading toward Cameron Road. This will allow the two existing right turn lanes towards Fraser Street, heading toward the Memorial Park, to remain. In addition, there will now be two lanes going straight ahead toward Cameron Road; the left hand lane being both a left turn and straight ahead.
An extra lane will be constructed in 15th Avenue heading toward Turret Road. This will allow an additional right turn lane into Fraser Street heading toward Merivale, plus two lanes going straight ahead; the left hand lane being both a left turn and straight ahead.
Fraser Street toward Memorial Park will be widened to enable an extension to the right turn lane towards Turret Road and allow two lanes of traffic to enter Fraser Street from either 15th Avenue or Fraser Street.
Road frontage for some properties will be reduced to achieve the extra lanes. Some of the berm will be used along the southwestern side of 15th Avenue.
The extra lanes allow an increased stacking capacity which increases the capacity of that intersection as more vehicles are able to move through at each signal change.
Safe places for cyclists to wait for light changes where car drivers can see them will also be a feature on the approaches to intersection along 15th Avenue lanes. These will give cyclists a head start at light changes and also makes them more visible to car and truck drivers because they are in front of the line of traffic and not in between vehicles.
Pedestrian and cycle improvements and connectivity:
Burrows Street on the north-eastern side of 15th Avenue will become left in/left out only. A new shared cycle and pedestrian walkway will join the upgraded pedestrian/cycleway emerging from the Waimapu Estuary and bring people up to 15th Avenue where the signaled crossing will take them across the road. This will give added safety to children walking and cycling to and from local schools.
The crossing signals will have an impact on traffic flow but the benefits of giving cyclists and pedestrians, and in particular school children, safe opportunities to cross was deemed to outweigh any inconvenience. Public feedback at previous consultation days indicated a strong preference to have a crossing here.
Pedestrian access across the Maungatapu roundabout is important for people living in the local area, to increase safety and security, particularly for school children.
A footpath will come up from Hammond Street and connect on to SH2/29 taking school children on a short walk to the roundabout. Controlled crossings will allow them to walk across the road, and around the island in the middle of the roundabout. Protective fences will be put in place to guide people across.
The controlled crossings will not affect the phasing of the traffic lights as the cross signal will be timed to coincide with the normal wait time for vehicles on each arm of the roundabout.
A new footpath at the top of Maungatapu Road will give people an alternative to using the underpass access at any time, but in particular, at night.
A new cycle and pedestrian crossing on the access road to the Hairini causeway will allow cyclists and pedestrians, school children in particular, coming to and from Turret Road to cross safely and join a footpath on the Wickham Place side of Hairini Street.
The narrowing of the road created by the new crossing will also help slow traffic heading down toward Turret Road and the city prior to merging with vehicles coming down from the Maungatapu Roundabout.
This provides an alternative route for pedestrians and cyclists from Turret Road to 15th Avenue.
From the new pedestrian refuge on Turret Road, the entry to the cycleway and footpath will be cleared and opened up to allow improved access and visibility. The existing boardwalk will be upgraded to accommodate a cycleway and footpath – taking people along the edge of the estuary to emerge at Burrows Street.
A number of improvements will be made to the existing boardwalk, including better visibility, improved alignment and widening so cyclists and pedestrians can use it safely. This will provide an ‘off’ road route which will link directly to the new Burrows Street controlled crossing.
One of the points of friction to traffic flow is caused by people rat running down 14th Avenue to Turret Road and then coming out to rejoin the traffic on the corner where it meets 15th Avenue. Vehicles coming down 15th Avenue are forced to slow or stop to let vehicles in, or risk accidents as vehicles dive into the flowing traffic. As part of the advanced works this point of entry on Turret Road will be closed.
The advanced works will also create a new auxiliary lane where traffic will be able to pull off the main road and slow down to turn left into Turret Road and go to 14th Avenue.
An uncontrolled pedestrian refuge will be placed on 15th Avenue half way between Grace Road and Alexander Street. The crossing will give pedestrians walking along Grace Street a safer opportunity to cross 15th Avenue.
The Fraser Street intersection improvements extend along 15th Avenue beyond Alexander and Bernard Streets. The increased traffic flows and the widening for the additional lanes impact on the safe access of vehicles from these side streets. Closing the access to 15th Avenue will also give streets back to the local residents, improving the community cohesion and allowing children to play in the street.
A new shared cycleway and footpath will replace the dirt track worn beneath the totara trees by pedestrians and cyclists over many years and make for a much more comfortable ride or walk. It will also provide protection for the tree roots. The totara trees lining the new pathway are significant for Tauranga, having been planted in honour of soldiers who died in World War II.