Business leaders: We need third bridge now
Cambridge’s business community is rejecting a report suggesting their town doesn’t need a third bridge across the Waikato River.
It could cost $65 million to build a new link between Cambridge and Leamington, and the Waipa District Council said it was unlikely to happen unless the Government helped pay the bill.
But Cambridge Chamber of Commerce chief executive Tania Witheford said not investigating a third bridge would be an opportunity lost.
‘‘Any compromise on the issue would have a dramatic and dire impact on the CBD, commercial businesses and carriers who depend on the road network.
‘‘While traffic numbers on their own don’t support the need for a new bridge, growth has continued, and the make-up of traffic types has changed.’’
A $25,755 report by consultants Beca, commissioned by the council, said it would be 20 years before traffic volumes warranted a third bridge.
It acknowledged at morning and afternoon peak, traffic flow was high across the narrow Victoria Road Bridge, also known as the ‘‘high bridge’’.
Options now included the council reconfiguring its road traffic flow to take pressure off the high bridge and making more use of the Shakespeare Road Bridge.
This could include converting the high bridge to a one-way tidal system during the weekends.
The report also said people should start walking, cycling or using public transport, or travel during off-peak times, to ease pressure. Witheford agreed any effort to reduce traffic congestion and better traffic flows into the CBD would be positive.
In 2015 maintenance on Shakespeare Street Bridge was completed so it could carry more heavy traffic.
The Victoria Street Bridge closed in 2014 for upgrades but it had a negative impact on the Cambridge CBD.
Cambridge footwear retailer Debbie Simes was critical of the report based on out-of-date data, from 2007 to 2014.
‘‘Several new subdivisions have been completed on the Leamington side of town since 2016 with more underway.
‘‘A third bridge is no longer optional.
‘‘The town comes to a stop as people leave work to travel home, for about an hour it is an unnecessary frustration.
‘‘Even the Shakespeare Street Bridge has traffic build up, with congestion from the bridge, right up to the Shakespeare Street roundabout.’’
The council’s road corridor manager Bryan Hudson said given traffic volumes, growth projections and costs, the ‘‘numbers don’t stack up for now’’.
‘‘We would need to provide a strong business case outlining how the project would support the government’s transport goals to get a government subsidy,’’ he said.
The council’s business support group manager, Ken Morris, said the suggested $65m cost of a new bridge would have to be spread across all ratepayers in the district, if there was no government subsidy.
‘‘The average Waipa ratepayer, the project would have to be funded over the next 30-years and would increase rates bill of around 11 per cent,’’ he said.