Transport Minister Simon Bridges may need a bypass of his own if passions boil over during a public meeting taking place at the Katikati Memorial Hall tonight.

The meeting will see locals voice their concerns about State Highway 2’s roading issues, as well as deliver a petition to Simon which calls for the construction of the long-awaited Katikati Bypass.

A petition calling for the construction of the long-awaited Katikati Bypass will be delivered to Transport Minister Simon Bridges at a public meeting at the Katikati Memorial Hall tonight. File Photo.

Starting at 6pm, Simon will be joined by Coromandel MP Scott Simpson, who helped organise public the meeting, plus New Zealand Transport Agency regional highways manager Niclas Johansson, senior project manager Chris Farnsworth and principal transport planner Mark Haseley.

Katikati Community Board chair Sam Dunlop says they’ve been trying to arrange a meeting with Simon for at least 18 months, then about five months ago they approached Scott for help.

“We’ve been busy organising for this meeting, getting opinions and statistics together to include with the petition which we’ll deliver to the minister tonight,” he says.

“The petition is to be bring further information to the minister’s attention and to show him the depth of feeling about the bypass because we are being treated arrogantly and dismissively by the NZTA. And that’s been going on for years.”

To date the petition has amassed more than 650 signatures.

The bypass has been a lingering, going-nowhere-fast issue for Katikati locals for so many decades most people have now lost count. And over those decades there’s been several instances where it looked like the bypass would be constructed, but nothing ever eventuated.

There’s even been several petitions over the years demanding the bypass.

Sam says among the data and information included with this most recent petition are traffic counts conducted by the Pakeke Lions in the middle of the Katikati township over the past several weeks.

He knows the NZTA does their own traffic counts, but says they occur to the north and south of Katikati and not in the middle of the town where the impact is the biggest.

“It’s called SH2 for Christ sake, it’s the second most important road after the main arterial in the country. It has an effect, but the NZTA don’t care,” says Sam.

“They have their agenda and we’re just a pawn in their game. Sorry pal, we’re the ones who are sucking up the smoke, the noise and the inconvenience. It’s our town and they’re just applying generic rules to it.”

Katikati Community Board chairman Sam Dunlop. File Photo.

Last week Western Bay councillor Peter Mackay spoke to media alleging the NZTA didn’t want the bypass as it created a ‘choke point’ in Katikati to encourage Auckland motorists to use the Waikato Expressway.

But regional highways manager Niclas Johansson says the NZTA has no desire to turn any part of SH2 into a ‘choke point’.

He says SH2 between Tauranga and Waihi is one of the most complex roads in the country and has many different competing traffic demands.

“We want people to get home to their loved ones safely, that’s why this stretch of road is a major focus for us,” says Niclas.

He points to the $520 million roading package announced earlier this year which includes the $286m Tauranga Northern Link, $150m to support future growth and $85m for targeted safety improvements designed to reduce the risk of crashes occurring.  

Niclas says last week the NZTA hosted open days in Katikati, Omokoroa and Te Puna to gather feedback and ideas from the community before it moves forward with details of what these changes will look like and where they will go. 

“More safety improvements on SH2 are planned over the next 10 years, focussed on the highest risk sections between Athenree to Katikati & Omokoroa to Te Puna,” says Niclas.

Tonight’s public meeting with Transport Minister Simon Bridges, Coromandel MP Scott Simpson and representatives from the NZTA takes place at the Katikati Memorial Hall on Main road at 6pm.

Coromandel MP Scott Simpson and Transport Minister Simon bridges. File Photo.