Tauranga City Council provided an update on the short-term plans for Cameron Road during the Urban Form and Transport Development committee meeting yesterday. Staff reported on transport improvements, specifically for the section of Cameron Road between Harington Street and 17th Avenue. The focus of the update was on future priority measures for buses along this main transport corridor.
Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy & Growth, stated that “Cameron Road is of huge significance to our city and we need to make it easier for more people to walk and travel by bus or bike. To achieve that, we must support a shift to a more multi-modal corridor. One of the first steps we are looking at to achieve this, is by improving reliability for public transport along the Cameron Road corridor.”
Various options to support the Public Transport Blueprint, which seeks to encourage more Tauranga residents to catch the bus, were discussed during the meeting. The main outcome was that the possible removal of an existing traffic lane in both directions for an all-day or peak period bus lane or High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane has been discounted. This decision was based on modelling, which indicated this option would significantly worsen traffic flows.
The option of a peak-time bus clearway was also considered. This would replace the existing on-street parking with a bus lane during the morning and afternoon peak periods. Parking would continue to be available outside those times. Transport modelling and public engagement have identified that the removal of parking to provide peak-hour bus clearways would not have significant benefits for the part of Cameron Road between Elizabeth Street and 9th Avenue. However, further investigation is necessary to determine if public transport benefits would justify the removal of parking for a peak-time bus clearway on some or all of the section of Cameron Road between 9th Ave and 17th Ave.
Council staff have been asked to report back to Council on the options for improving bus travel time reliability and improving facilities for people walking and biking. This is intended to occur in August. In the meantime, Council staff will continue to work with affected businesses, landowners, schools and residents along Cameron Road to investigate possible improvement options.