People living in a beachside suburb in Tauranga are asking the city council to address issues of speeding and noise on their street. Residents Rebecca Roe and Jan Neale, who live on Pāpāmoa Beach Road, submitted a petition to the Tauranga City Council. They claim that the section of road from Domain Road to Palm Beach Boulevard is violating health and safety standards due to excessive noise, speed, and traffic congestion.
The petition, which gathered 42 signatures from locals, calls for the council to work with the police to install a fixed speed camera. Neale reports that people often speed along the road, with the highest recorded speed being 90km/h in a 50km/h zone. He also mentions that the noise from the road is impacting residents’ wellbeing, making it impossible to enjoy their front decks or sleep without earplugs.
To mitigate the noise, Neale and Roe suggest planting flax on a nearby bank and using asphalt instead of chip seal on the road. Roe also proposes installing speed bumps and additional crossings to slow down traffic, as well as implementing a heavy vehicle ban. She believes the road should serve as a residential street, not a main route, and plans to establish an advocacy group for affected residents.
In response to the petition, commission chair Anne Tolley confirmed that discussions with the police about speed control in the area are ongoing. She also mentioned that asphalt is significantly more expensive than chip seal, and residents would need to cover the additional cost. Tolley will discuss the possibility of planting flax on the bank with the spaces and places general manager. Once a new interchange is completed in 2026, the council will consider a bylaw to redirect trucks to the Tauranga Eastern Link highway. The council will review the petition and report their findings at a meeting on May 20.
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