Te Aroha/Ruakura Safety Improvements

These improvements will make it safer for people – including students – who walk, bike, and scooter through this neighbourhood. 

Alternative and dedicated traffic routes through and across the city are now available with the expressway and Wairere Drive.

Sorry, but there’re going to be lots of road cones and disruptions until your safe, quiet, and accessible streets are completed.

The main impacts are likely to be:

• traffic management e.g. stop/go
• noise (machinery)
• hazards such as holes being dug and uneven ground
• limited footpath and bike space
• low speed limits of 30km/h
• temporary road closures and diversions

All residents and businesses will be advised in advance of any works being undertaken that will directly impact you e.g. access to driveways, noise, hazards.

If you have special needs, please let us know.

When the contract is given to the construction company, they’ll advise how long it is likely to take and then we can let you know. This will be early 2024.

The length of time construction takes can vary depending on factors such as whether or not:

• road access is limited to residents only for the duration of the construction
• they do one side at a time
• how it is staged along the length of both roads
• weather

Car parking surveys carried out along the streets show that on-street carparks are only used between 5-18% of the time.

There are currently 48 on-street parks along Te Aroha Street. Six carparks will be kept near the Grey Street roundabout. The remaining carparks within the shoulder are proposed to be removed.

On-street parking will remain on the side roads for residents to use.

A shared path is wide enough for neighbourhood walkers, people with prams, children going to school on bikes, and scooter/mobility scooter users. It’s designed for all users to share safely – even if they’re in groups.   

The two-way dedicated bike lanes on the other side of the road are mainly for bike and scooter users who are connecting from one part of the city to another and are typically going faster. The two-way dedicated bike lanes also continue from the existing section coming from the university and provide space for people on bikes to overtake each other.

The safety improvements being undertaken make sure both ‘the neighbourhood’ and the ‘bike commuter’s’ needs are met.

The bus stops are not being removed but they are moving in-lane. This means that buses stop in the lane and traffic must wait behind them while passengers get on and off.

The advantages of this are that buses are more reliable because they don’t have to compete with traffic to get back in-lane.

Ruakura Road was once a country road but as the city has developed, the road use has changed.

Reducing it to two lanes means the bike path and shared path can be constructed and it provides a safe passageway.

Modelling shows the impact on travel time from the reduction of traffic lanes to be minimal – particularly as the rest of Ruakura Road and Te Aroha Street only have two traffic lanes.

Every car contributes to congestion. These changes will allow for fewer cars by providing an alternative and safe commuter option.

Congestion is the result of more people living and driving in a growing city. We’re currently highly reliant on our cars in Hamilton, but travelling by car takes up the most road space per person of any mode of transport.  Active and public transport (walking, biking, and buses) are much more efficient at moving large volumes of people compared to cars. That’s partly why Hamilton City Council and Waikato Regional Council are investing more in options for people to walk, ride a bike, or catch a bus.

These changes will also allow biking to be safer and bus travel to be more reliable (the in-lane bus stops mean buses are not competing with traffic) which will make this a more attractive option for some commuters.

For people who need to use cars, we’re not reducing capacity of the road nor changing the intersections – but it might take a little longer to get where you are going with the change to the speed limit.

The cyclist has the right of way.

The next section is called the Peachgrove safety improvements. These will be along the stretch of road between Ruakura Road and Clyde Street (past Peachgrove Intermediate, Hamilton Boys High School, and servicing several other schools and early childhood centres). Design work on these will be completed early 2024, with construction currently planned to start in 2025 after this section.

Before this section can begin, there will be undergrounding of some power lines which is currently planned for early 2024.

The rules are the same as on any road. When you hear emergency services, please:

• Pull over in a safe place as far to the left as you can to let the vehicle pass.
• If there’s not enough space on the road, you may need to pull into a driveway, side road, or use a grass verge. Avoid driving onto the footpath.
• Always check for pedestrians and cyclists before stopping.