Reducing traffic volumes on Links Avenue to improve safety.
Update April 2023
Since end of December 2022, Links Avenue has partially reopened based on the community panel’s three-phased proposal. The partial reopening allows access to and from Concord Avenue for seven days a week for all hours except between 7am-10am and 2pm-6pm. Over the next two to three months, we’re working with the panel on monitoring the reopening, data collection to see how it’s tracking, and implementing other aspects of the panel’s proposal in making this road safer for all road users. Both council and the panel will ensure the community will be kept informed on progress. We’re catching up in May to discuss amongst other things the traffic counts, bus statistics, and confirming next steps forward. The panel will report to the community following that meeting.
From today, Links Avenue has partially reopened with an enforceable speed limit of 30km per hour and a time restricted bus lane.
The partial reopening will allow access to and from Concord Avenue for seven days a week for all hours except between 7am-10am and 2pm-6pm.
We would like to thank the Links Avenue Community Panel for their hard work and for developing a phased approach to getting Links Avenue safely open – not just for cars but also for pedestrians, people on bikes, scooters and in mobility scooters and wheelchairs.
Council and the panel will get together again around March/April to consider next steps.
For more information about the panel, please go to: Links Avenue Community Panel
Plans are underway to partially reopen the cu-de-sac end of Links Avenue before Christmas (this is expected the week of 19 December – weather dependent). The work required to allow the reopening is expected to start on Sunday 4 December and take about two weeks to complete, again depending on factors such as the weather.
The immediate plans consist of the following:
- Work taking place at night will include the installation of speed tables
- Work taking place during the day will include the installation of signage consisting of electronic speed indication signs, speed limit road markings and time-based flashing signs
- During the construction period, a traffic management plan will be in place.
The partial reopening is the result of the Links Avenue Community Panel’s hard work over the past five months in coming up with a three-phase proposal covering the next two years, with some aspects of Phase One expected to be implemented before Christmas which include:
- Restricting access Monday to Sunday between 7am and 10am and 2pm and 6pm. At all other times of the day, access through the cul-de-sac will be unrestricted
- Maintaining a 30kmph speed limit, with a recommended bylaw change to be considered at a Council meeting on 12 December and expected to take effect from 19 December
- Installing temporary speed tables until pedestrian crossings can be installed
- Installing new improved signage and road markings.
Once the above aspects of Phase One are in place, a period of monitoring and data collection will take place for several months after the Christmas and New Year holidays, to see how this part of Phase One is tracking. The result of the monitoring will help inform the next phases of the Panel’s proposal, and the Panel and Council will continue to work together on next steps.
Supporting documents:
Project background
Over the last few years, parents of school children using Mount Maunganui’s Links Avenue have repeatedly raised safety concerns about the proximity of shared path users to traffic with Council. A safety review confirmed the road layout of Links Avenue to be unsafe for young people with peak traffic of up to 7500 cars a day. Restricting access was identified as the most effective way to significantly reduce traffic, resulting in improved safety for vulnerable road users.
Following the presentation of the report’s findings the commissioners approved the trial of a cul-de-sac to test the impact on the safety of school children using Links Avenue and the impact on the network. The trial took place between 15 November and 17 December 2021.
Outcomes, data and community feedback from the first trial show that the numbers of cars travelling through Links Avenue decreased significantly and that people’s perception of safety improved. However, it didn’t fully test all aspects of a cul-de-sac solution. Residents have told us the location should be changed and travel engineers need a longer trial to accurately test and observe changes in road user behaviour.
To make an informed decision about the future of Links Avenue, commissioners have approved a new trial at the Concord Road end of Links Avenue.
Second Links Avenue trial
From the week beginning 28 March 2022, a temporary cul-de-sac will be established on Links Avenue, between Solway Place and Concord Avenue. The trial works in a very similar way to the last, but there are some differences. In summary:
- Thoroughfare is limited to emergency vehicles, buses, bikes and motorbikes.
- Rubbish collection trucks, clearly marked taxis and delivery trucks – please ensure that your vehicle is servicing properties specifically in Links Avenue (or streets only accessible from Links Avenue).
- Reduced speed on Links Avenue to 30km.
- The road will be resealed and temporary road marking will remove the bus lane.
- The trial will run for at least four months to test the impact on the wider roading network and observe commuting behaviour over time.
- Infringement of the bus lanes that create the cul-de-sac will result in a fine of $150.