Tauranga, residents have mixed feelings about road cones.

Some aren’t bothered about the number lined up around streetscapes, while others find what they think are surplus orange cones annoying and embarrassing.

“There’s safety and then there’s nannying. There’s a fine line and I think we’re going on to the nannying side of things at the moment,” Tauranga resident David Hill said about the number of cones around the city.

“They’re an annoyance. It’s an obstruction, it’s a visual barrier and it doesn’t send good signals to retailers here.”

David Hill said the quantity of road cones is a visual barrier and an annoyance. Photo / Bob Tulloch

The Weekend Sun hit The Strand in central Tauranga on March 13 to get the public’s opinion on road cones, after news broke of Ashburton Mayor Neill Brown’s intention to crack down on road cones “littering” his district.

Road cones have become a joke in Tauranga’s student community, according to Hill. “There’s plenty of student places around here with road cones in their bedrooms,” he said. “When I was at university, it was a badge of honour to have one in your room.”

Tauranga resident Dan Watson disagreed. “The more the better. I’m not an engineer or safety professional, but it’s about safety for the road workers.”

Kellie Brown, who works on Cliff St, said parking was tricky because road cones were often placed in spots that block car parks.

Kellie Brown said road cones make finding parking around the city a challenge. Photo / Bob Tulloch

“Everyone’s trying to park and there’s nowhere to park,” she said.

“Road cones are sitting in carparks when they’re not doing work. They seem to be there a lot, just sitting in idle carparks.”

Tauranga businesseswoman Catherine MacLoughlin did not think about road cones much.

Catherine MacLoughlin said she isn’t bothered about the road cones and believes there are bigger things to worry about in the city. Photo / Bob Tulloch

“I mean, sure, there’s a lot around, but I’m not really bothered.”

MacLoughlin did not think it a problem and the city had other priorities to worry about.

Tauranga waitress Kate Beattie thought otherwise. “There is a lot of road cones, especially in Bethlehem.”

Kate Beattie said she sees a lot of road cones particularly along her commute from Bethlehem. Photo / Bob Tulloch

She said the quantity of road cones around Tauranga was “a waste”.

Retail worker Jason Pool said there were many road cones, “especially on the outskirts when you are coming into town”.

Jason Pool said when he sees road cones, most of the time there are no workers around. Photo / Bob Tulloch

“That’s all you see and nine times out of 10, they’re in an area that’s nobody’s working in and there’s no machinery or anything there.

“A lot of them aren’t in use, which is annoying and is a hazard if they’re not being used.

“It’s embarrassing because people come in from all around the world to come to this area and they just see the cones here.”

Council comment

Tauranga City Council transport network operations manager Martin Taylor said the use of temporary traffic management, including road cones, was essential to ensure that all road workers could return home safely at the end of the day, as well as protecting the public from hazards on the work site.

“It’s important to understand that the requirement for Health and Safety at work remains in place.

“There is currently an industry transition under way from the existing Code of Practice for Temporary Traffic Management to a risk-based system, which requires contractors to come up with a traffic management set up which is both safe and efficient.”

He said road cones were not problematic when used appropriately to make a worksite safe for workers to operate within and to guide traffic around the worksite.

“They are an essential part of enabling a contractor to meet their legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work legislation.”

Taylor said this could result in fewer cones being used, however in theory it should reduce some of the restrictions or rules in the current system. The council was encouraging contractors to use more innovative and efficient approaches to their traffic management setups.

“Council is also looking at a few specific areas where there are opportunities to reduce cost while maintaining a safe work environment,” Taylor said.