A community panel set up to find a solution for the traffic issues on Links Avenue is determined to reach its goal, but members are aware of the challenges they face.

The Links Avenue Community Panel was set up in July by Tauranga City Council in response to community backlash about the cul-de-sac that blocks off one end of the Mount Maunganui street.

In March, Links Avenue was closed between Solway Place and Concord Avenue to all traffic except buses, bikes and authorised vehicles in response to residents' safety concerns.

Initially, the council said it would be a four month trial but now the closure will remain until another solution is found.

The cul-de-sac is formed by two bus lanes and anyone that travels down them illegally receives a $150 fine.

In the first two months of the trial close to 17,000 fines were issued, equating to around $2.5 million in revenue.

Panel spokesperson Sophie Merwe put herself forward for the panel because she was impacted by the trial.

'I was quite emotional about it [the trial] because it just sort of happened without a lot of input from the community,” she says.

'But I like to think I'm a proactive person and so rather than just sit and whinge, I contacted council and put my thoughts forward.

'I was a little bit disappointed that we weren't consulted before it started, as a community, like we are now.”

Merwe lives on Berwick Place and uses Links Avenue multiple times a day. She has 'mixed” thoughts about the cul-de-sac but says safety of the street has improved and the quiet street is 'nice”.

'It's really frustrating when I'm coming back from Pāpāmoa or Bayfair [because] you have to go all the way around.

'But at the same time, it's really nice being able to turn right onto Links Ave, out of Ascot [Road] without waiting for someone to let you into a line of traffic.”

Fellow spokesperson Dan McLean agrees Links Avenue is a 'safer space” because of the cul-de-sac.

'I truly believe that it has proactively addressed any concerns relating to the school kids and the risks that they were potentially subject to with the high volumes of traffic on that road pre the trial,” says McLean.

'I travel at school times and it's just a totally different landscape there now.”

Prior to the trial there were more than 7000 vehicle movements per day on the road, which is a travel corridor for Mount Maunganui Intermediate, Omanu School and Mount Manganui College.

Links Avenue is classified as a residential street and a safe volume of vehicles was between 2000-2500 per day.

The panel is made up of 12 members of different ages and situations that live on Links Avenue or the surrounding streets with one member from Pāpāmoa.

Links Avenue is closed between Solway Place and Concord Avenue to all traffic except buses. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

'What this has done is brought a whole lot of like-minded people with different ideas and from different backgrounds to the table," says Dan.

He acknowledges it is a complex issue to design a solution for because of the geography, the transport strategy, the health safety of children, cyclists and pedestrians as well as catering for busses and future proofing.

'It does make it really problematic to just come up with one solution.

'As a group, we acknowledge that there's no clear solution or proposal that's going to meet the needs of everyone, but certainly there's an opportunity to create a proposal and a process that engages everyone," says Dan.

'We're trying to come up with ideas that will work for most people acknowledging that it's not going to work for everybody," says Sophie.

The pair has heard a range of different views through being on the panel which has changed their thinking.

Dan says before being on the panel he was happy for the cul-de-sac to remain but after hearing one woman's experience he realised a different solution is needed.

He says the impacts of the trial are far greater for some than others.

'While many residents are pleased with the reduction in traffic the cul-de-sac has brought about, there are also negative affects being borne unfairly by some people in our community.

'These range from quite serious isolation experienced by some to matters of inconvenience for others.

'It's just trying to get a balance between one's needs versus the majority of others.”

Sophie says they are taking everyone's thoughts on board to try and incorporate them into a solution.

Once the panel has some firm proposals they will present these to a reference group of 25 other people to 'test” their thinking.

'It's really important to us that it's not just us. We want everybody to have a say,” she says.

The panel was provided an independent facilitator by the council and has access to any specialists or information it requires.

A deadline has not been set for the solution, but the panel is hoping to have something in the next few months.

The proposal must reduce traffic, provide for the bus service and will be subject to a safety audit before the commissioners make the final decision on a permanent solution.

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