Traffic congestion on Champion Road at the round-a-bouts on Salisbury Road and Hill Street is becoming a problem for people who live in the area, especially during rush hours.
Over the past few years, the volume of traffic has increased, and it can now take up to 20 minutes for a driver to exit from Champion Road into Salisbury Road.
This is a big concern for local resident Christa Brown.
“A lot of the traffic on Hill Street is using this as a by-pass and there is Garin College, the entrance to the Velodrome, the new Summerset Retirement Village on Hill Street North and the numerous subdivision projects which will add further to the volume of traffic,” says Christa.
“Worse still, there is to be a Countdown on the corner of Salisbury Road – it beggars belief that the council has approved such a commercial development in a residential area, especially taking into consideration the number of schools,” she says.
The new Countdown store is expected to be built in the corner between Champion Road and Salisbury Road by early 2021 and the Tasman District Council (TDC) says it is working to improve the transit in that spot.
A Countdown spokesperson says that the company is working closely with the council around timing to deliver the store for the local community as soon as it can. “We’ve had some great feedback from the community about the new store already and will be able to update people over the next year as this comes to life.”
TDC transport manager Jamie MacPherson says the approval for the new supermarket to operate at the Champion/Salisbury site was conditional on the intersection being upgraded prior to the supermarket opening.
“Upgrading of the intersection, involving the addition of turning lanes on Champion and Salisbury approaches, and improved facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, is planned to begin in 2020.”