The highly debated ‘Innovating Streets at The Mount' trial is no longer going ahead.

The trial, which would have seen a temporary shared path and altered traffic arrangements for the section of Marine Parade between Pacific Avenue and the Tay Street intersection, initially angered residents who not only thought it was a waste of money, but also saw it as being the same one-way system and two-way cycle cruiseway already proposed and turned down in 2018.

'We don't want another a Phoenix carpark or Greerton mess,” was one comment made at a July 2020 meeting.

One of the reasons given for the $1 million trial on the council website was that in ‘Mount north there is a high intensity of people in cars, on bikes, on foot and other modes of transport, but there is also limited space'.

Another reason given was that during the lockdown, when people were asked to stay home, instead cycling increased by 277 per cent, although it's not clear whether that figure is just for Mount Maunganui or Tauranga-wide.

At a Council meeting on Monday, Commissioners said the ‘Innovating Streets at The Mount' project did not have sufficient community support to proceed and adopted an alternative resolution to include a cost and feasibility study for the extension of the Marine Parade boardwalk in the draft Long-term Plan 2021-2031.

During the community consultation and co-design for the project, strong community support was received for extending the boardwalk on the coast side of Marine Parade from the Cenotaph (opposite the Pacific Avenue intersection) to the Oceanbeach Road roundabout.

The boardwalk was not part of the initial plans the Council was seeking feedback on and it would be out of scope for the Innovating Streets project itself, which is limited to temporary works within the road reserve, in line with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency's funding requirements.

Commission Chair Anne Tolley says the idea of extending the boardwalk has been around for some time and it would address many of the opportunities identified through the Innovating Streets project.

'Although the trial's community co-design approach received good support, we felt opinion was too divided to make a convincing case. Under the circumstances, we felt it would be better to prioritise the potential extension of the existing Marine Parade boardwalk.”

Kathryn King, Urban Mobility Manager at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says she is really impressed with the way Tauranga City Council approached the Mount trial with a very strong co-design approach.

"They worked closely with a diverse range of people across the community to ensure all voices were heard. The Innovating Streets programme is all about trialling and testing new ways of doing things while working with communities to help create vibrant spaces that meet their needs.

"Even though the project isn't going ahead there are key learnings Tauranga City Council, other councils and Waka Kotahi can benefit from to help with the delivery of other projects.”

Project leader Guy Protheroe says while the Innovating Streets project as visualised is not proceeding, council staff have learnt a lot about community sentiment and a truly collaborative design process, and council is keen to continue working with the community in a similar way.

'Also, we are aware of some current safety concerns about the Tay Street intersection and council's Transportation team will further investigate how to address and fund these outside of the Innovating Streets project.”