A traffic flow trial beginning in September will test the effect that unrestricted right-of-way access from SH30 through the Landing Road/Hinemoa Street roundabout has on the delays currently faced by motorists travelling into Whakatāne.
The joint NZ Transport Agency/Whakatāne District Council trial will begin on 12 September and will involve the reconfiguration of the roundabout into a teardrop shape, which will mean that only traffic entering the roundabout from the west, across the Whakatāne River bridge, will be able to turn onto Landing Road.
Council Infrastructure General Manager Tomasz Krawczyk says the aim of the trial is to establish whether the current congestion issues at The Hub can be eased by providing right-of-way through the roundabout for eastbound traffic.
"The planned, three-month closure of the Pekatahi Bridge on SH2 from February next year will see at least another 2,000 vehicles a day re-routed across the Landing Road bridge, adding to the existing congestion issues at peak commute times," he says. "We believe the new configuration will have a beneficial effect and, if that is the case, it's likely the trial will continue until the Pekatahi Bridge re-decking project is completed in late-April or early-May next year."
Mr Krawczyk says the Council is aware that the priority system could see the current congestion problem transferred to the Eivers Road/King Street roundabouts. "To address that situation, we will be encouraging CBD-bound traffic to use Eivers Road and Peace Street, rather than Domain Road and Commerce or McAlister Streets. Motorists travelling from Hinemoa Street and city-south areas will be encouraged to divert through one of the link roads leading to the Valley Road/Commerce Street access route, or to use King Street and Domain Road.
"We will be installing CCTV cameras at both the Landing Road and Eivers Road/King Street roundabouts to closely monitor the situation and determine whether any additional traffic flow control measures are required."
He says the trial will undoubtedly cause some inconvenience for Whakatāne Rowing Club members and residents of properties on the short, western extension of Landing Road. "To travel to the CBD or other destinations in Whakatāne, those people will have to turn west over the bridge, circle the eastern roundabout at The Hub - with right-of-way access - and then travel back across the bridge before continuing their journeys," he explains. "We apologise for the disruption that will cause, but given the need to address the growing congestions issues at The Hub, we hope that the few minutes of extra travel time involved will be viewed as an acceptable inconvenience."