Te Puke town centre tweaks

Community feedback on the completed Te Puke town centre design has resulted in some changes.

Locals raised concerns about aspects of the completed main street project at a public meeting on 13 September, led by Western Bay of Plenty District Council and the town centre project control group.

The meeting was held to hear the community's response to two town centre surveys on the project - one by Key Research and the second by Te Puke retailer Murray Holyoake.

After the meeting, Council staff and the project control group met to discuss the key issues raised at the meeting.

Council's Development Engineering Manager Raj Sumeran says a number of issues are being addressed as part of the community feedback.

These are:

• Plantings of more flowering plants, including day lilies, agapanthus and annuals along the median island
• Changes to the vertical bollards at the pedestrian crossing to overcome concerns that pedestrians (particularly children) are not visible to motorists
• Signage within the town centre to guide traffic to parking areas in Queen Street and Commerce Lane
• Changes to the roundabout approach at Palmer Court/Jellicoe Street to allay concerns about insecurity of pedestrians
• Signage to warn of sun strike and peak queues at No 1 Road.

Planting and signage works are already underway as are design options for the bollards and roundabout.

"We are listening to the community and addressing people's concerns as much as possible. The project is still in its early days of completion so it will take time for the community and Council to get a full appreciation of the longer term effects of the new layout.''

Council is also assessing the results of an independent road safety audit on the completed project by the engineering consultancy Aurecon. The outcome of this audit could trigger further enhancements to the design, says Raj.