A proposed new bus interchange for Farm Street, behind Bayfair, has been criticised by a transport lobby group.

Greater Tauranga spokesperson Heidi Hughes says there should be community engagement on the proposal, which would move the current bus interchange from the front of the Bayfair mall.

'In our view it sets up the new bus system to fail,” she says, citing a lack of bus lanes and traffic volumes on Farm Street as reasons why the new interchange should not be there.

'We believe this project should have been notified and local people consulted. It is a very big change in use for a local residential street. We also believe the project has not been well thought through and could result in a slow, inefficient bus service during peak times.

'We believe there should be bus lanes added to the Baypark to Bayfair Link project and that the main bus interchange should be on Maunganui Road with a bike/pedestrian over or underpass to connect people to the interchange.”

Greater Tauranga sent a letter earlier this month to government ministers Phil Twyford and Julie Anne Genter, highlighting their issues with the Baypark to Bayfair Link project and their concerns around the council's Farm Street proposal. They are yet to receive a reply.

Sue McArthur, a Farm Street resident and Greater Tauranga member, says she and her neighbours found out about the proposed interchange in August.

'I contacted Tauranga City Council and asked for details of the proposal, and was supplied with draft engineering drawings and renders of the shelters.”

She says she shared these with residents, and also spoke with Bayfair manager Steve Ellingford about the matter, who told her nothing has been finalised between the council and Bayfair as yet.

'Residents have been told the resource consent being prepared for the interchange will be non-notified, which means there may be no opportunity for consultation to take place between the council and residents on this matter,” says Sue.

She says traffic on Farm Street is currently ‘very heavy', with cars entering and exiting from Bayfair every day onto the narrow road.

A video has also been produced by Greater Tauranga showing the heavy volumes of traffic on Farm Street, and the dangers posed, in their view, to both pedestrians and cyclists using the route.

Tauranga City Council spokesperson Marcel Currin says the transport team has been working with local stakeholders towards getting a bus interchange in the Arataki area.

'There's not yet a confirmed location, although Farm Street has been in the conversation. Once a location is sorted they'll be able to start talking about it with the wider community.

'They're wanting to progress something early next year. The purpose of having an interchange in Arataki is to support work that the regional council is doing to improve bus services.”

A report to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Public Transport Committee in May says Tauranga City Council advised that ‘work on a bus interchange on Farm Street behind Bayfair is due for completion in November 2017 (original completion date of February 2017)'.

BOPRC transport policy manager Garry Maloney says both councils are currently working around the viability of a bus interchange in the Arataki area.

'No location has been confirmed. We will continue to work with all out transport partners to ensure they deliver a public transport network that responds to growth, meets the needs of our diverse community and encourages more people to use the buses.”

Bayfair declined to comment on the matter, saying it was a council project.