Residents fear tsunami trap created
Group claims $90m interchange fails to offer escape
Pa¯pa¯moa East residents concerned they may be caught in a tsunami trap want a new bridge built with footpath and cycle access. Some residents have formed the Eastern Corridor Alliance to fight for better access in and out of the rapidly growing area via the Pa¯pa¯moa Eastern Interchange (PEI) bridge.
Earthworks for the $90 million interchange project began in July and construction on the extension of Te Okuroa Drive, which will eventually connect with the interchange, begins next year. The interchange is expected to open in early 2026.
However, there are concerns the new bridge could be built without a footpath, or cycle access. Plans online do not indicate any such provisions.
The council says the bridge has provisions for pedestrians and cycle lanes that would connect to the Tauranga Eastern Link when it opened but these do not connect to any roading or accessway beyond the four-lane highway.
Alliance representative Philip Brown said a pathway on and away from the bridge would provide a crucial evacuation route in the event of a tsunami alert and could provide a practical cycleway connection as part of the city's push to get people out of cars.
“We all agree that a tsunami is possible here but no one knows what the tsunami is going to be like or what depth it's going to be.”
On Tauranga City Council and Bay of Plenty Civil Defence tsunami evacuation zone maps, Pa¯ pa¯ moa East is broken into red, orange, and yellow evacuation zones. In Pa¯pa¯moa East between the coast and State Highway 2, five designated spots are deemed tsunami-safe zones including at the high ground at Gordon Spratt Reserve, the Domain Rd Interchange, the Parton Rd Overbridge and two locations where the interchange access is expected to connect with the Tauranga Eastern Link. But the maps do not detail any escape beyond the highway.
“We had a false alarm in 2021. The roads became gridlocked. That will happen again any other time we have a tsunami. The only way out is on foot or by bike. The only place to go will be inland. Pa¯ pa¯ moa hills are the ideal spot, once you cross the expressway, you are on higher land, generally,” Brown said.
Bridge pedestrian access connected with nearby Bell Rd was important for this reason, Brown said.
“Really [the only escape] is to get across on the bridge.”
Brown said because the bridge had not yet been built “we have the opportunity” to future-proof the infrastructure.
The group also wanted the bridge to offer a car alternative for people living in Pa¯pa¯moa East working in Te Puke, or for cyclists wanting to connect to the region's main cycleways.
“Let's utilise this bridge for lots of things.
“For us, it's common sense but they [the council] are looking at us as if we have pulled these ideas from Mars.”
Brown said, from his perspective, the council's initial response to the group's concerns and suggestions was "they are just not interested".
Brown acknowledged Pa¯pa¯moa's tsunami-safe locations but said these were not necessarily suitable for the area's rapidly growing population and may not be effective depending on the size of a potential tsunami. This was why evacuation routes crossing
Tsunami survival guide
the expressway were so important, he said.
Without these, Pa¯pa¯moa residents were effectively “trapped” by the four-lane highway, he said.
“There will be lots of people in the area at one time. We get this evacuation warning . . . where do we go to cross the expressway?”
The group has requested a meeting with the council, he said.
Council director of transport Brendan Bisley said the bridge had always had provision for pedestrians and cycle lanes and would connect to the Tauranga Eastern Link when it opened.
However, he said this did not connect to any roading or accessway.
“If the land on the other side of the TEL [Tauranga Eastern Link] was to be developed in the future, there would be an option for it to be connected,” Bisley said.
“Any future development in Bell Rd would be undertaken by the developer and at this stage, we are not aware of the timing for anything planned in this area,” Bisley said.
Asked what plans were in store to connect the pathway with an accessway or road, Bisley said council staff had offered to meet with Brown about the bridge plans.
“The need for pedestrian and cycle access has been part of our thinking during the design of the PEI and we'll continue to work on how this might link to a tsunami evacuation route for the Pa¯pa¯moa East community in future.”
In late 2021, a Tsunami Awareness Campaign was established to inform the community and visitors about what to do during such an event.
This working group has since been renamed the Tauranga City Hazards Working Group with a wider scope of the city and region.
Council emergency management team leader Daniel Pearce said the group was made up of “community leaders and members from various sections of Tauranga City Council and community groups such as council community development and planning teams, Neighbourhood Support, local business associations and ratepayer groups”.
“The group attended a facilitated session where they contributed to the establishment of an engagement plan to advise priority communities, provide pathways into communities and identify stakeholders within communities.”
Pearce said the council acknowledged there were some “existing challenges” regarding evacuation routes and safe evacuation zones. These existed “particularly around the Pa¯pa¯moa and Pa¯pa¯moa East areas”.
Emergency management would continue to work with the council and developers to “improve access to these evacuation routes and safe zones”, Pearce said.