Southern route lost from Cherry Ln
May 14th, 2012 | By Tamahere Forum | Category: Hot Topics, Latest NewsBollard Road and Cherry Lane residents, including the growing number of Tamahere Eventide residents will lose their direct route south once the Waikato Expressway is completed.
The NZ Transport Agency told the Tamahere Community Committee (TCC) at its May meeting that the expressway’s Hamilton southern interchange, which is centred on Cherry Lane, will now have no south-bound access ramps.
Instead, travellers heading south from Cherry Lane will have to use a network of local roads west of the State Highway and drive on to the highway at the more southern Tamahere interchange. They will be able to travel north into Hamilton via north-bound ramps.
The committee was concerned that people would be forced to take a convoluted route but a motion to oppose the removal of the south-bound ramps was defeated.
NZTA will be shortly lodging applications for resource consents for the project, expected to be completed in 2019. Click the following link to see the proposed design of the Hamilton southern interchange (pdf): Hamilton-southern-interchange-design-option-b
Village square
TCC continues to wrangle with the Waikato District Council over the funding of the proposed Tamahere village square or piazza on Devine Rd.
“Just as WDC funds the development and maintenance of other town centres, so it should for Tamahere too, and with no specially targeted rate,” the committee said.
TCC is keen for the proposed village centre to be a community-owned asset but the council would prefer it to be controlled by private property developers, the Forum has reported.
Montessori school
The Newell Rd Montessori School proposes to expand from 50 students to 100, with a resource consent hearing being held on Tuesday, May 15.
TCC expressed concern at the “haphazard” nature of planning for the unexpected expansion, which had the potential to impact on traffic volumes, roads, waste water and other infrastructure. It plans to make a submission on the proposal.
A range of TCC submissions can be viewed here.
The full minutes of TCC meetings are here.
Hi,
Please ignore my 2nd message. I found the answer.
Great to see the comments on the exclusion of the south ramps. NZTA are a rule unto themselves, always say they have consulted, Just they have different plans with deletions and then consider they have had enough of the consultation process and proceed anyway.
As a committee member I have watched the evolution of the cherry lane section as well as the south section which is about to be started.
This will bring all the traffic from pickering, discombe, forrest and Duncan roads into Tamahere drive and distributed through the roundabout on airport road. Add to this the new sandpit trucks and you can guess what will happen.
Now imagine all the extra traffic from the Bollard and cherry lane area as well as the Eventide, who want to go south will have to over the motorway (cherry) onto a new connection onto another new road (birchwood) which is going to connect to another new road (wallys way) which will connect to SH21 just southwest of Regals.
Question I have is no south ramps on cherry Lane, south ramps removed at the current Tamahere interchange, then how do you head south?
This is an incredibly stupid decision.
What is the benefit of the option they have chosen? I cannot see how it can be cheaper and it is certainly not safer nor more convenient.
Can anybody tell me the names of the people involved in this decision making so we can start to lobby them?..
NZ Transport Agency is responsible for constructing the Waikato Espressway, Andrew. The Transport Minister is Gerry Brownlee. You can find the local NZTA contact here.
Thanks.
Who also please is the “Tamahere Community Committee”? Who, if I understand your report correctly, voted to not to oppose NZTA..?
You found the TCC details, Andrew, but for the benefit of others click this link for the Tamahere Community Committee.
Montessori School – I have concerns with your comments regarding this issue. The planning was not in my view haphazard nor was the expansion unexpected. The development of a primary unit has taken a number of years and has been done with great thought and consideration, of the needs of the children, the community and the environment. As a parent of a past and a current student I look forward to the opening of the primary unit. Our family have been waiting over three years for this to happen. I know in my case the expansion will reduce my impact on traffic volumes in the area with me having to drive to only one school rather than two, as my elder daughter will return to the Montessori school from her current one.
Just to clarify, Judith, the views reported are those of the Tamahere Community Committee.
In the context of the design change to eliminate south bound access onto the Expressway for Cherry Lane and Bollard Road users, I recall that the Southern Links Project also proposes eliminating the south facing on and off ramps at Tamahere, which will result in many of us in the area being forced to use local roads to get onto the Expressway at the proposed new interchange further south of Tamahere. Will the TCC oppose the design plan for the Southern Links which touts the removal of the south facing on and off ramps at Tamahere?
Option B is the worst choice possible for Tamahere Eventide Home & Retirement Village. Access to our site will not only be difficult for staff, residents & families. Half of our staff lives south of Tamahere and they will be required to use local roads to get to work. It will also make getting to our site very difficult for residents of our retirement village and families of the residents visiting. Visitors and staff traveling from the Hamilton will at least have good access.
It is near impossible to get signage on State Highway 1. What signage will they be willing to put up for us as their road development will have a severe negative impact on getting to our site?
NZTA did not consider the needs of the elderly in this design. Option A and C suits the needs of our clients and staff a lot more than Option B – the worst case option.