Hundreds of Kaitkati locals packed out the Memorial Hall on Thursday night to send a clear message to Transport Minister Simon Bridges and the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Katikati needs a bypass – and needs it now.

It was standing room only at the Katikati Memorial Hall on Thursday night with an estimated 400+ locals turning out for a public meeting focussing on State Highway 2 roading issues and the Katikati Bypass. Photo: Katch Katikati/Facebook

With seating for 350 people, an estimated 400+ locals turned out for the public meeting which was also attended by NZTA's regional highways manager Niclas Johansson, senior project manager Chris Farnsworth and principal transport planner Mark Haseley.

Given the fact the community has been demanding the $42 million bypass be constructed for several decades now, you could bet safe money the meeting would get rowdy. One senior NZTA official was booed off the microphone by the crowd, while the Transport Minister wasn't immune either.

Fuelling passions even further were the deaths of five Tongan kiwifruit workers on State Highway 2 in Aongatete on Tuesday night. Though the meeting had been organised before the crash occurred, the tragedy has surely added more weight to locals' concerns.

Simon says ahead of Thursday night's meeting he expected it would be very robust and a lot of strong views would be expressed.

'People have a right to their views, and look, there's a lot in what was said last night,” he says.

'However, it's not only a matter of taking it into account, because we can't ignore that meeting, but also coolly and calmly making the best decisions for the entire sub-region.

'This is a complex and potentially treacherous road. While millions of dollars are being invested, it's important we're spending it to be best effect where we can have the most difference on more reliable journeys and safety and that work will show where the money's best spent.”

During the meeting the Transport Minister explained $85m worth of safety improvements designed to reduce death and serious injury crashes would be invested into the area as part of the $520m roading package announced in April.

While Simon appreciates the bypass has been a long-running issue for Katikati, he says it's not a straight forward issue.

'The concern is that a very highly specified bypass could lead to even more trucks on SH2 and therefore undermine that long term plan.

'Consultations are still going on and my expectation is that the NZTA officials will go away and test themselves and their views on the package before making a decision in several months.

'The thing is this, the NZTA and myself certainly were listening last night. We couldn't have got a stronger message,” says Simon.

Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Peter Mackay. File Photo.

Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Peter Mackay gives credit where credit's due and believes the way the minister dealt with the meeting and some unruly people was 'polished and professional”.

But at the end of the day, Peter says no assurances were made by the minister that he would do anything other than look at the situation.

'The history of the Katikati problem goes back way before Simon's tenure as Transport Minister, earlier ministers had given what the Katikati community believed were commitments which haven't been acted upon,” says Peter.

'The people of Katikati feel they've been neglected by the NZTA. The traffic volumes, congestion, environmental pollution, these problems are making the town centre a very unpleasant place to be during the day and it's all adding up to an environment of great unhappiness.”

Another sore point Peter says is his allegation that Katikati is being used as a 'speed bump”.

He's gone on record previously saying the NZTA was using Katikati as a ‘choke-point' in order to deter motorists from using SH2 in a bid to encourage them to travelling south via the Waikato Expressway/SH1.

Yesterday, NZTA regional highways manager Niclas Johansson told SunLive the agency has no desire to turn any part of SH2 into a ‘choke point'.

While Simon wouldn't be drawn on that argument, he says the Waikato Expressway/SH1 is seen by the Government as a nationally strategic freight route which it wants to see more trucks use.

'The Waikato Express is a $2 billion, four lane highway that is much better purposed for heavy vehicles and light vehicles too. Work is being done to look at how we may improve things even further down closer to Tauranga.

'There's a number of reasons why trucks travel the routes they do, but in truth, we're never going to see the end of trucks on SH2. But the argument is we want to do what we can to ensure more travel to Tauranga, which is home to the biggest export port in the country, via SH1 and SH29,” says Simon.

Transport Minister and Tauranga MP Simon Bridges. File Photo.