Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and Tauranga City Council are preparing for the next round of community consultation and engagement for Tauriko for Tomorrow.

People are invited to visit the Tauriko for Tomorrow pop-up at Tauranga Crossing from Wednesday, May 12 to Sunday, May 16.

Tauriko for Tomorrow is a collaborative project with four key partners, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Tauranga City Council and Waka Kotahi.

People will be able to provide feedback on the short and long-term transport options, proposals for the Tauriko West community development and gain a general update on where other parts of the project are at.

'The recent work has focussed on transport plans to support the growing region which improve safety, provide better travel choice and local connections to Tauriko Business Estate and the wider Tauranga network,” says Waka Kotahi national manager system design Robyn Elston.

'Waka Kotahi and Tauranga City Council are leading this phase for the project, as the change to the urban limits line (Bay of Plenty Regional Council) and local government boundary alteration (Western Bay of Plenty District Council) processes are complete.”

The project team is keen to update people on the plans to create a thriving community for people to live, learn, work and play locally.

'Tauriko West is one of the city's key urban developments, providing approximately 3000 to 4000 homes, and is essential to the Connected Centres programme (Urban Form and Transport Initiative) to cater for the growth in the western Bay of Plenty sub-region,” says Tauranga City Council general manager: strategy and growth Christine Jones.

'Ensuring there is access to amenities such as schooling, parks, cycle and walkways, and the Wairoa River; shopping at nearby areas; transport options and infrastructure are critical to the future of Tauranga and the western Bay of Plenty.”

Much of the progress on this multi-layered project has not been visible to the public over the past two years. The next step is to confirm the short and long-term transport system improvements.

The short-term transport improvements are planned for construction in the next two to three years and include a new roundabout at SH29/Redwood Lane, a new intersection with traffic lights on SH29 at Tauriko village, four lanes between Tauriko village and Cambridge Road, and traffic lights at SH29/Cambridge Road intersection. A new shared path along the north side of SH29, a new connection to Tauranga Crossing via Whiore Avenue for buses, pedestrians, and cyclists, and a shared walking and cycling path along both sides of Whiore Avenue to Taurikura Drive is also planned.

The proposed long-term (10 plus years) improvements for SH29 and SH29A include three options, to either upgrade the existing state highways (online option), a new four-lane corridor alongside the existing state highways (offline option), or a mixture of the two.

'It is as much a priority to increase the attractiveness of public transport and walking, cycling and other active modes through the area, as it is to improve safety and access of the state highways,” says Robyn.

'We want to get the community's input into the proposed improvements to help us understand if we have missed anything. We realise many people are keen to see these improvements made.”

Feedback is open from Wednesday, May 12 to Friday, June 11, 2021.

From Wednesday, May 12, people can view the proposed improvements and provide feedback online at: taurikofortomorrow.co.nz if they can't make it to the Tauriko for Tomorrow pop-up at Tauranga Crossing.

Tauriko for Tomorrow pop-up at Tauranga Crossing, opposite the Garden Eateries, downstairs from Wednesday, May 12 to Sunday, May 16, between 11am and 4pm. For more information: taurikofortomorrow.co.nz