Safety improvements at both ends of Welcome Bay Lane is due to start on Monday.

NZ Transport Agency Project Manager John McCarthy says the improvements will allow Tauranga City Council to reopen Welcome Bay Lane to cars while managing the risks to people on bikes and other vulnerable road users.

The improvements have been through an independent safety review process, in collaboration with Council.

John says they are specifically designed to improve safety at the entry and exit points of Welcome Bay Lane.

The previous give way arrangements for exiting the old lane will be modified to a compulsory stop in the new design.

'We are also building a traffic island at the entrance of Welcome Bay Lane to slow down vehicles before they turn into the lane, as well as limiting the size of vehicles that can access the lane.

'The design recognises that confident cyclists will probably choose to stay on the road however cyclists do have two options to get across the Welcome Bay Lane intersection, including diverting left along Welcome Bay Lane to a new off-road crossing location or staying on the marked cycle lane.”

Other small safety improvements will include new signage and road markings, providing a safer left turn access into Greenwood Park Retirement Village, and a traffic calming device known as a ‘speed cushion' on Welcome Bay Lane.

Welcome Bay Lane was closed in September 2018 after a cycle safety review, commissioned by Tauranga City Council and the Transport Agency, confirmed the road needed to be closed for safety reasons.

For safety reasons, the new improvements mean Welcome Bay Lane will be re-opened to cars, however all heavy vehicles – including buses – will still need to use the signalised intersection on Welcome Bay Road.

Construction will start on Monday and is expected to take about two months to complete, with the road scheduled to re-open in November 2019.