No "simple fix" for traffic issue

TRAFFIC issues at Bunnythorpe are proving to be one of the most significant challenges facing members of a project team working on a strategic roading network around Palmerston North and into the Manawatu District.

Assets Group Manager, Richard Kirby, a member of the Palmerston North-Manawatu Joint Strategic Transport Study’s Technical Group, said dealing with traffic through and around the township was not a “simple fix”.

Bunnythorpe was a focal point for most traffic routes in the region – Mt Stewart to the Manawatu Gorge, Feilding to Palmerston North, the ring road and the north-east industrial area.
“The common factor is Bunnythorpe,” said Mr Kirby, “and the plan now is to come up with a realistic proposal for traffic in that area.”

Mr Kirby said phase 1 of the transport study – to develop an evidence-based 30-year strategy for an area bounded by the Manawatu Gorge, Feilding, Sanson and Shannon – had involved collation of information and been largely completed.

“We are now moving into a more critical phase by taking all that information and seeing what common threads there are to build a robust case for the network,” he said. “Results showed there was not much commonality between the reports – there was no silver bullet – and highlighted the problem around Bunnythorpe.”

Mr Kirby said there were a number of documents and policies linked to the study, which represented a “turning point” for regional traffic links, and “if we don’t get this right, then we could end up with inefficient roading movements in the future.”

Traffic counts in the area were rising by 1 to 2 percent each year, and Feilding concerns centre on Aorangi Bridge which is crossed by more than 14,000 vehicles a day, largely travelling between the town and Palmerston North.

“That’s a fairly high count and more than the daily traffic movements between Bulls and Sanson on State Highways 1 and 3,” said Mr Kirby.

He said there was a preference for existing roads to be upgraded, rather than new ones built, and this could mean traffic continuing to flow through Bunnythorpe in the short to medium term rather than around the township.

“And the crux of the matter is to make those routes a little bit safer, not only for the traffic but also the people of Bunnythorpe.”