Haumarutanga rori - pakeke

Road safety - adults

The Travel Safe team work in the community to reduce accidents and improve road safety.

Young Driver Workshop

Free young driver workshops are aimed at road users aged between 16 and 24, who hold a current learner or restricted driver licence. Participants will leave with improved knowledge, confidence, and skills.

Each workshop includes:

A 60-minute one-on-one driving lesson with a certified instructor
Waka Kotahi NZTA roadworthy vehicle check (what to check to ensure your vehicle is safe and roadworthy)
Driver behaviour awareness (speed, impairment, restraints, distraction, and fatigue
Awareness session on sharing the road with heavy vehicles

Parents/caregivers are strongly encouraged to attend but it’s not compulsory. The four-hour workshops are held during school term holidays, usually between 9am and 1pm.

Drive has everything you need to prepare for your learner, restricted and full licence tests.

Visit the Drive website

Young driver workshop

Car Restraints

Looking for support around car seat restraints? Contact one of our local car seat technicians at travelsafeschools@tauranga.govt.nz. We offer free car seat installations, checks, and will help answer any questions or concerns regarding your car restraint.

Carseat installation

Parking behaviour

Drop off and pick up are busy times that pose a safety risk at the school gate. Travel Safe help schools to communicate things like parking time limits, drop off and pick up zones, parking over the kerb and other safety risks at the school gate. We deliver an in-school parking and safety programme named Peaceful Parker, and partner with council parking officers to do school visits when requested by schools or the community.

Blindzone Workshops

Blindzone workshops allow people to see the world from a truck driver’s point of view. Through a series of practical scenarios, participants will learn where to place themselves so they are visible to truck drivers and will leave with more awareness and confidence on the road.

For more on Blindzone and cycling around heavy vehicles visit Share the Road.

Blindzone workshop

Be Bright, Be Safe, Be Seen

This winter visibility programme reminds cyclists, walkers, runners, and scooter riders to have lights, bright clothing, and reflective gear if they are out and about during early mornings, evenings, and at other times of low light and poor visibility.

Whether commuting to work or school, being active for fun or fitness, or popping down to the local shops, people should take extra care and keep safe by being fully visible on roads and paths.

All cyclists are encouraged to wear high-visibility clothing and ensure their front light, rear light and rear red reflector are all working correctly and are clean.

View the official New Zealand code for cycling for more information.

Road improvements confirmed for city centre

More parking and safer intersections are among improvements that will be made to Tauranga city centre streets in response to community feedback.

The changes come after a survey of more than 1300 people found they want a more vibrant city centre that is easier to move around.

City centre movement map May 2026

The survey also identified concerns about the one-way traffic system being trailed in the city centre – including confusion, parking and reports of people feeling unsafe at key intersections.

Many people said they wanted Grey Street and The Strand to remain two-way streets for traffic.

Balancing this feedback, the City Future Committee meeting yesterday heard that making the trial one-way street system permanent had many benefits.

It would serve the city centre’s new art gallery, library and community hub by offering wider footpaths and space for taxis, bus shelters and large passenger vehicles.

The committee resolved to make the one-way pilot system permanent while addressing community concerns by:

adding an estimated eight to 11 angled parking spaces on Wharf and Willow streets, partly by replacing the Willow Street cycle lane
where possible, making other improvements to parking and loading bays on Wharf, Spring and southern Willow streets
retaining Grey Street and The Strand as two-way streets in response to feedback from businesses and other city centre users
making Willow Street more pedestrian-friendly to link the new civic centre with Masonic Park and the waterfront, with vehicles still able to share the space with pedestrians
making safety improvements to intersections in the existing one-way system.

“Staff have picked out the issues that made the one-way system unpopular and are looking to address them,” said Te Papa Ward Councillor and committee deputy chair Rod Taylor.

“These changes are necessary and grounded in a wider vision for the city centre – it demands that we have one-way streets in certain areas.”

The council’s general manager of operations and infrastructure, Reneke van Soest, said there were no easy answers with road changes.

“It’s often a balance between providing different modes of transport while meeting the needs of a diverse range of people in our community,” she said.

“These changes will make our city centre more pedestrian-friendly while freeing up space for all types of transport around the new civic precinct, Te Manawataki o Te Papa.”

She thanked the public for sharing their views on city centre streets.

Improvements to the one-way system are expected to be made within existing budgets.

Posted: May 20, 2026,