Tauranga City councillors adopted a new roading strategy for the city this week, in spite of being told sections of the strategy may require a major re-think.

Photo: file.

The Tauranga Transport Strategy 2012-2042 uses Smartgrowth's population growth predictions to plan the city's roading requirements during the next 30 years.

The study analyses expected industrial and commercial growth areas and provides guidelines for the roading requirements to keep the city moving.

But a fundamental assumption behind the strategy is being called into question by the New Zealand Transport Agency, which is signalling the city may no longer count on being able to use the state highways for cross-town traffic, and parallel links may have to be constructed.

When city councillors adopted the new roading strategy in this week's TCC City Vision meeting, Tauranga City Mayor Stuart Crosby confirmed NZTA's stance, saying: 'It's a relatively new direction from NZTA”.

But TCC city infrastructure planning team leader Philip King says NZTA 'are becoming more and more vocal”.

'It's all contained in a new process the NZTA is developing called the One Network Road Classification.

'It contains classifications for every road in the country, not just the NZTA's state highway networks, but city networks as well, and classifying the networks on national, regional and local outcomes.

'What they [NZTA] are saying is that where corridors have a national focus, they want to see less local traffic on them,” says Philip, who spoke to SunLive after the meeting.

An example of the policy is the NZTA footing the $50 million bill for the Welcome Bay underpass, because it removes local traffic from the state highway.

'That's an example of it happening. The consequence of that on the existing network is something I'm not fully sure about. I think it's more likely to be a conversation with new areas,” says Philip.

'Because SH29, between Tauriko and Te Maunga, is the only arterial road there is absolutely no real choice at the moment – and that isn't a situation that will be resolved by us building a new road tomorrow.

'It's something that will happen as the city grows over 30-40 years, rather than immediately.”

It may in future be a factor in the timing of the SH2 northern arterial, as this link would take traffic away from the Bethlehem Town Centre, says Philip.

'On the other side of town if the Granada St and Gloucester Rd street links were connected, they'd also take a lot of traffic off the state highway.”

But completing this road-link is at the whim of developers, rather than council, says Philip.

'It's just an example of a case where a lack of local connections is putting more pressure on the highway network.”

The updated roading strategy has taken about two years to prepare, with changes in NZTA's stance being more recent.

'It's something that's been coming out over the last 12 months and it's still not fully finished, but it's just a new process that we need to align with,” says Philip.

'Certainly, during the last 12 months, the strategy has changed to reflect the new processes that are coming out.

'It's part of the reason for the delay. But it is a 30-year document and we have opportunities to review it in three years, six years.”