What’s Your Property Worth? Rachel Cole Tauriko upgrade must be completed without delay

e Western Bay of Plenty has a transport infrastructure crisis, with inadequate roading causing low productivity, poor housing availability and untold frustration through congestion on key routes.

Our region received a big step forward earlier this week when Waka Kotahi presented local councils with their business case to upgrade State Highway 29 at Tauriko.

e case needed to be endorsed locally before it hits Waka Kotahi’s board for sign-o in August.

Anyone who has driven through Tauriko will know that this is a key congestion point, with queues often backing several kilometres up the Kaimai Ranges in the afternoons.

While the region and the Tauriko area have grown massively during the past few decades, our roading infrastructure in that area hasn’t increased capacity at all.

Critically important

is area is critically important for our future.

Many people will know that Tauranga has the least a ordable housing and rental markets of all major cities in New Zealand. at is mainly because we haven’t been able to unlock land to keep up with the growth.

Tauriko is a prime example of that, where we have available land to develop but it cannot be zoned because it has insu cient transport connections. We have exactly the same situation www.sunlive.co.nz

News tips phone: 0800 SUNLIVE for industrial land – we have essentially run out of future capacity.

Of concern to the wider New Zealand economy is the need to keep the Port of Tauranga accessible for freight tra c. Demands on the port will only become more intense during the next few decades with the decline of the Ports of Auckland and increased freight volumes across the Upper North Island. e port is very signi cant for New Zealand, handling key exports of our primary produce alongside essential imports, many of which can only be transported by road.

Complete it in 10 years

e update to SH29 at Tauriko is a large piece of work, involving widening roads between Barkes Corner and the Tauriko roundabout and bypassing most of the current road for the rst few kilometres up the Kaimais. e plan has been well researched, but it recommends a staged approach, only completed in 2050. A staged approach is simply way too long; this project needs to be completed in 10 years to be e ective. Removing this choke-point is the single investment that will unlock the full potential of other regional private and public investments in everything from housing to green energy and active transport, to jobs, manufacturing and export growth, to infrastructure resilience. e consequences should we not proceed are immense for our region and New Zealand. Half measures can’t be taken, this project must be completed without delay.

- docedge.nz/ lms/taking-back-our-beach

Online property scams

People are being warned not to fall prey to online property scams currently doing the rounds.

Dog attacks rises

Western Bay of Plenty District

Council says dog attacks have increased this year, and could continue to increase with the growing dog population in the region.

Animal services team leader Peter Hrstich says “several factors” could re ect dog attack numbers, such as weather and holiday makers bringing their dogs to the Western Bay of Plenty.

In the last 12 months, from July 2022 to June 2023, the Western Bay of Plenty District Council has seen 158 reports of dogs attacking people or animals. In the previous 12 months, from July 2021 to June 2022, there have been 120 reports of dog attacks in the past 12 months.

Rena film premiere e 90-minute feature lm

‘Taking Back our Beach’ will be screened at Mount Maunganui from October 5, the 12th anniversary of the Rena grounding on Astrolabe reef. e lm has already made its debut at the Doc Edge Film Festival in June.

In the audience on opening night will be more than 200 people who have been directly involved with the retelling of this unique piece of Tauranga’s history, from interviewees to production crew to the many supporters.

‘Taking Back our Beach’ is currently viewable online until July 9 as part of the Doc Edge Festival Virtual Cinema here e Real Estate Institute of New Zealand has been made aware of several recent online property cyber scamsparticularly in the property management and online rental listing space - which are becoming increasingly common.

REINZ’s cyber-security awareness partner Phriendly Phishing provides the following advice for renters: Verify the identity of the property manager or owner, use o cial channels of communication, beware of unusually low rent prices, do not pay money upfront and ensure legal documents are provided.

Part-time bus lanes

Operating times are now con rmed for part-time bus lanes on Cameron Road. In agreement with Bay of Plenty Regional Council, peak-time bus lane and car parking hours on Cameron Road, between Elizabeth Street and Sixteenth Avenue, have now been con rmed. When the part time bus lanes become operational later this year, they will operate from 7am to 9am heading into the city - on the western side of the road, and 4pm to 6pm heading out of the city - on the eastern side of the road, Monday to Friday.

At all other times, including weekends, the part-time bus lanes will continue to be used for parking and loading, with time limits in place.

Polish language

ere’s games, ash cards and quizzes –all to preserve a language about 17,616km away from where it is most commonly spoken.

Agnieszka Frear and Marzena Dinan are running a language class for Tauranga’s Polish children every Sunday, and they’re wanting more families to come along.

Marzena says the Polish community is visiting their families more now they have the freedom to travel, in the aftermath of Covid-19 border restrictions.

“It’s also so lovely to see the kids trying so hard and embracing the language.

“I hope later on when the kids are older they would like to travel to Poland and experience the culture there.”

To learn more about the Polish preschool, visit the Facebook group.