Changes signalled for traffic entering Eruera St from Amohau St / SH30

Rotorua, 18 June 2012 - Changes for traffic entering and exiting the western end of Eruera Street to and from Amohau Street (State Highway 30) have been signalled for implementation in the next few weeks.

As traffic management works are undertaken on Amohau Street to construct vehicle access and egress for the new Trade Central and Mitre 10 Mega development, vehicles exiting Eruera St opposite the entrance to the new complex will be limited to a left turn into Amohau St, with entry no longer permitted off Amohau into Eruera.

Rotorua District Council engineering services manager Andy Bell said the changes to the lower end of Eruera St were a condition of the consent granted for the new retail project. He said the condition had been endorsed by NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) as the agency had concerns about potential traffic congestion and safety on Amohau St, which is also part of the state highway network.

Mr Bell said that in addition to supporting the restrictions so that traffic flow and safety were improved, the council had also given its support to the consent condition to ensure that the new retail development could take place in Rotorua.

“Clearly the city’s future economic development, the jobs this project will bring and the extra retail choices Rotorua people would have were prime reasons for endorsing these changes, alongside the interests of road safety and traffic flow improvement.

“There are already historic concerns about the safety of this intersection and it's been the scene of a number of accidents over the years, so we’re looking forward to seeing the new measures put in place to make it a much safer intersection than it is at present.

Mr Bell said the traffic changes were regarded as interim only for a period of a few years as full access in and out of Eruera from Amohau would be reinstated when the new Victoria Arterial was built.

He said the council had written to property owners, residents and businesses in the immediate area to inform them of the coming changes.

“We acknowledge that this will mean some inconvenience for for a period of time for a small number of people, but the wider economic and safety benefits for our city and for our residents would appear to outweigh those disadvantages significantly."

ENDS

© Scoop Media