Papamoa East residents are petitioning the city council for an alternative route out of eastern Papamoa which at present has Papamoa Beach Road as the only access.
More than 1200 people have signed the petition, and signatures were still arriving as the petition was presented at Monday's Projects and Monitoring Committee meeting.
Presenter Paul Melhuish with a petition for an escape route from Papamoa east.
Presenter Paul Melhuish says a recent police armed offender's squad search of a property on Papamoa Beach Road illustrates their point.
Papamoa Beach Road was closed and there was no way in, and no way out, for thousands of people. They want an alternative access along the yet to be built sections of Te Okuroa Drive and Golden Sands Drive to link at the Parton Road roundabout.
Te Okuroa Drive is the road intended to provide access to the planned Wairakei development. Presently planned for construction when population requires, it is not expected to be built until 2019-2020 at a cost of $15 million.
In an earlier story council told SunLive that other triggers for the construction of Te Okuroa Drive is 14,300 vehicles per day on Papamoa Beach Road, east of Parton Rd, and current traffic levels are about 8000 vehicles.
The current focus for road funding in the area is four-laning Tara Road, and the four-laning of Domain Road.
Paul says petitioners don't want the whole Te Okuroa Drive project brought forward, just 500metres of it, which can be done for about $2million-$3million.
The council staff report to the petition states Golden Sands Drive is a developer funded road. Its delivery depends on commercial decisions regarding the roll-out of the Bluehaven sub-division in Wairakei. Council is not involved in the delivery of the road.
Wayne Moultrie asked if the Papamoa group will consider a targeted rate to pay for the road, Paul said they would consider it.
6 comments
If you fail to plan . . .
Posted on 24-09-2013 09:10 | By The author of this comment has been removed.
This situation arises from past greedy developers not giving a hoot about proper infrastructure. Hopefully council in future will force developers to do things properly.
Priorities
Posted on 24-09-2013 09:38 | By FunandGames
Council has a massive debit load that makes it difficult to provide these services. The question is why? The answer is a lot of debit was incured for the wrong reasons, eg building a road to thhe port when it really was a govt priority not a council priority.
Escape from Papamoa
Posted on 24-09-2013 10:16 | By Phailed1
Long before it was fashionable to be worried about tsunamis I thought it was sensible to live at least 20 metres above sea level. But I can see the attraction of living in Papamoa close to the beach. But isn't that one of the trade-offs of living in a new area - less roads, less paths, less trees until the area develops. And woe betide us if the new escape path happens to go anywhere anyone's faux columned mansion with its high-boarded fences. It will become an entry and escape route for criminals and council will then be lobbied to close it, if past experience holds true.
..
Posted on 24-09-2013 10:43 | By maccachic
3 Million divided by 1200 people isn't a lot just up their rates and do it.
bit sad
Posted on 24-09-2013 12:49 | By sojourner
I think it's a bit sad if all some folks can think about is 'up their rates'when the situation is becoming more and more unworkable there. We used to live on the corner of Parton and Papamoa Beach Roads and the volume of traffic there is unbearable to live with. For a residential area of that size and growing to have only one road in and out is stupid. Period.But I guess they could all get themselves each a horse and just gallop through the back of there. Yeeha!Off to work we go! It needs to be fixed, and the sooner the better.
Councillors Don't Drive
Posted on 24-09-2013 21:20 | By EyeSplice
If the Council gave the developers consent to build - then the Council should have the intelligence to understand that an increase in population will inevitably create a greater volume of vehicles on the roads. Not only is the eastern Papamoa area roadways grinding to a standstill but the failure to open the full lengths of Gloucester Rd and Grenada St is also causing a 10Km/Hr crawl during peak hours along Maranui/Papamoa Beach Roads. Come On Council - Sort the Traffic Problem out Now - You allowed it to happen!
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