Council is responsible for approximately 630km of roads, 820km of footpaths and more than a million square metres of berms around the city.
We also manage and maintain 14,600 street lights 17,650 road signs and 24 vehicle bridges and culverts.
Footpaths
Footpaths are for people. We ask residents to keep any trees, shrubs or plants on their boundary clear of the footpath so pedestrians can get past easily and safely.
Tauranga City Council spends approximately $950,000 annually on renewals, repairs and maintenance of existing footpaths.
Footpath repairs will be done either if there is a 25 mm lip (usually caused by tree roots), or there is a piece missing which could cause a trip hazard. If the footpath is cracked or worn but the concrete remains level it is deemed to be safe and will not be repaired.
Routine repairs generally take about a fortnight to be done from the time that they are marked, but this can change depending on the amount of work that is programmed at the time, and if there are problems with the roots from an adjacent tree. Sites that form part of a larger programme of work, such as a footpath renewal, will be monitored and made safe when needed ahead of the renewal taking place. Completing footpath renewals, repairs and maintenance is constrained by the amount of funding available and sometimes we need to prioritise works. These works are partially funded by the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
If you have concerns about a footpath in your area, please call us on 07 577 7000.
Berms
Grass berms and verges are generally on Council owned land. Council encourages residents to mow the berms outside their property, which not only helps keep our city looking tidy but also helps keep rates down.
Council's policy is to mow berms when they get to 300mm high. If you wish to discuss this policy and how it affects you please call us on 07 577 7000 for more information.
Your berm
The area of land outside your property called the berm or verge, is important to keep clear. This is because we use this area to access pipes and cables and carry out essential maintenance. The public must also be able to walk and cycle through this area.
For these reasons, please don’t plant out your berm or make any changes to your berm without talking to us first.
We're currently working with property owners to remove any unauthorised changes made to berms. Our contractors are prioritising the removal of changes that are a safety risk.
If you have a query regarding an activity on a berm, please contact us.
Street Use Policy (141kb pdf)
Streetlights
The streetlight in my street is not going. How do I get it fixed?
Call Council on 07 577 7000 and we'll arrange for a contractor to repair it, or use the Antenno app to report any faults. Please give a good description of the location of the light, such as a street address, and a description of the problem, as the contractor will repair it during the day when the lights are not going and may not be able to see what is wrong.
Sometimes the lighting in our street isn't fixed on the first visit, why is that?
Streetlight faults can re-occur at any time, due to external influences such as rain creating cable faults below ground. The cable faults may not exist in between periods of rain so may not be found when initially visited. If our contractors attend to a street lighting fault and determine that it is a cable fault, Council is unable to fix these cable faults, as the streetlight cables are owned by the regional electricity lines company. Faults of this nature are generally where there are multiple lights not working. Council’s contractors will refer these faults to the regional electricity lines company, once they have established that the fault is a cable fault. Council is unable to influence restoration times for cable faults to be fixed.
The lighting in our street is on during the daytime, why is this?
Streetlights that are on during the day, are known as day-burners. These lights have missed the signal that’s sent to switch them off. These types of faults will often resolve themselves the next day when a new command is sent to the light. Council pays a fixed charge for lighting, so it doesn’t cost us extra for the lights to be on during the day. Work priorities are often higher for streets that don’t have operational lighting, but if the problem persists, Council's lighting contractor will attend.
The lighting in our street is very dull. How do we get it improved?
We have recently undertaken an LED upgrade programme, improving lighting levels to appropriate standards based on the category and usage of the road. If you believe the lighting levels in your street are substandard, please inform Council and this will be considered with any future improvement planning. There are several complexities around adding to or raising lighting levels which may require community engagement.
The streetlight outside my house shines into the bedroom at night. It is very annoying. Is there anything you can do to prevent this?
It may be possible to modify the light fitting to reduce the amount of light 'spill' onto private property but not in every case. Please contact Council for assistance and our contractors will visit to see if we can make any appropriate alterations.
The streetlight down our private right of way is not working. How do I get it fixed?
Lights in private lanes or right of ways are owned by the properties down the lane. Power and repair charges are the responsibility of the property owners. You will need to contact an electrical contractor for assistance.
There is no street lighting down a public accessway, why is this?
Public accessway lighting is not a level of service which Council currently provides, although we try to illuminate both approaches to the accessway. If you feel strongly that the accessway that you use should be lit, please use the Long-term Plan consultation period to enter a submission for this to be considered by Council, which may result in a change to this level of service.
Bridges
Tauranga City Council owns and maintains 15 bridges throughout the city. The longest is the Chapel Street bridge at 134m. The shortest bridge is the Oropi Road Bridge south of SH29 at 13m long.
Bridge inspection is carried out annually with maintenance requirements identified and repairs carried out.
In addition, there are a number of NZ Transport Agency owned State Highway bridges within the boundaries of Tauranga City. These include the two harbour crossing bridges linking Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. The first harbour crossing bridge was opened in 1988 and the second in 2009.
Cell phone towers
In Tauranga, and across New Zealand, telecommunications activity is dictated by the National Environmental Standards for Telecommunications (commonly known as NES).
The NES provides a national framework of rules for the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure. It allows network operators to install a wide range of low impact telecommunications infrastructure, such as cell phone towers, without the need to apply for resource consent, provided they meet certain conditions.
Under NES standards, if companies meet the standards and comply with District Plan restrictions, they are able to decide where cell phone towers are erected – including on public road reserves owned by Council, and urban and rural areas. This means Council is unable to intervene in or prevent companies from erecting cell phone towers where they choose to do so. Towers can also be built on private land if the landowner agrees.
Telecommunications providers are encouraged, but not obligated, to consult with the community so residents can raise their concerns and have their say.
Cell phone towers factsheet (84kb pdf)