Commision News & Views with Commission Chair Anne Tolley

The New Year is well underway, but as this is my first Weekend Sun column for 2022, I'll start by wishing you all the best for the next 11 months.

With the highly infectious Omicron Covid-19 variant amongst us, it's clear that we won't be putting the pandemic behind us for some time.

The focus for this column is two initiatives which aim to create better connections for people moving around our city – Building our Future: Cameron Road, Te Papa, and a new public transport joint committee we have established with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

Construction work on Cameron Road is in full swing, and we will soon see some of the new features emerging which will make this key transport corridor better and safer for pedestrians, cyclists and people using mobility devices.

It will create bus clearways to prioritise public transport during peak travel times, and retain two traffic lanes in each direction, with intersection improvements also focusing on safety and efficiency.

Traffic lights and signalised crossings will be installed at some main intersections, including 9th Avenue, where work on the current roundabout began this week.

Sadly, this will require the removal of the large swamp oak tree at that location, but the overall project will see more than 30,000 plants, shrubs and trees planted to create an attractive and people-friendly thoroughfare.

Early work is also focusing on renewal of the aging underground services (water, wastewater and stormwater pipes), which is needed to cater for the ever-increasing number of people living on the Te Papa peninsula.

Effective public transport is essential if we are going to address the city's congestion issues, and a new joint committee established with regional council will look to drive improvements to the current system, to make it easier and more convenient to use.

Some of your commissioners are regular users, so we will be looking to utilise our experiences and the feedback we receive from the community to make public transport a more attractive option for everyone.

An artist's impression of the Cameron Road streetscape at 6th Avenue.