Cycle traffic counters are being placed on three of the city's bridges to give transport planners a clearer picture of how many Tauranga commuters cycle and walk.

Tauranga City Council's transport planner Philip King told councillors cyclist and pedestrian counters will be placed on the Harbour Bridge, Matapihi Rail Bridge and the Chapel Street Causeway to help give planners a clearer picture.

Three thousand cyclists on Cameron Road? Picture: Bruce Barnard

The move comes as a response to criticism from councillor Larry Baldock who says Tauranga's Transport Strategy 2012-2042, currently under discussion, has a few too many references to 'sustainable travel choices”.

'I don't know that we are actually visualising what a change would look like,” says Larry.

'If we have 30,000 vehicles a day on Cameron Road how many cyclists would you need to see to affect congestion?

'You might need ten per cent of those people to get out of their cars and get on a bike. It might be just as big a problem.

'What would 3000 cyclists look like going down Cameron Road? It would be just as big a problem as the 30,000 vehicles in my opinion, and I don't think we are addressing it in our strategy.

In the meeting Larry said people will still choose the most efficient form of transport for them, and that is the car.

He says council is not being realistic when it comes to getting people out of cars and into using alternative means of transport in an effort to reduce congestion points around the city.

'I think we are putting too much weight on it. It's great for recreational stuff, it's great we put cycle ways through, but in terms of actually shifting people out of cars in sufficient numbers, I really don't think we are being realistic about it.

'Buses yes, if we are only talking about public transport improvements, but we keep coming across this idea that somehow we are doing better if we get out of our cars and get on our bikes.”

The existing cycles lanes are not getting used, says Larry and the council is going to be facing paying for a lot more overpasses just for cyclists.

Philip says about 3000 cyclists on Cameron Road would use alternative routes.

Census information in the report shows Tauranga has a higher percentage of private vehicle use than the national average, a lower than average use of buses and a lower than average incidence of walking to work and working at home. Cycling and motorcycle use is broadly equivalent to the national average

But Tauranga drivers are causing more injuries to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists than the national averages.

The information states about 50 per cent of the pedestrian accidents involve school age children. Cyclists are more often injured on intersections and across driveways and side roads. Injured motorcyclists are mostly young.