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Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz |
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It's that time of year again when we try to stick to our New Year's Resolutions and the first one that is broken: 'I'll never trying to drive in or out of Tauranga at holiday time again.”
The reason we fail to listen to our own advice, is that we have to get home or back to work, in order to fulfil the remaining New Year Resolutions that we've yet to break. Sad fact of reality, there's no way around driving the arterial routes if you need to be north of Tauranga. Now all the people out east in Te Puke are quietly sniggering, because they have the magnificent TEL which ensures a smooth and satisfying driving experience at virtually all times of the year; in fact flowing so well the gummint plans to crank the speed limit up to 110. Those in the under-privileged northwest can only dream of four lanes and traffic that flows at any sort of efficient pace. 
We've heard rumours of folk in Whakamarama who are wondering what the numbers 3 and 4 mean on the top of their gearshift knobs. And anyone travelling regularly from Plummers Point could be thinking they could let the dog out for some exercise at McGregor's Fruit Shop and the dog will be waiting sipping a Flat White at Bethlehem Town Centre by the time the car arrives there.
Road re-named
Other rumours suggest SH2 is to be renamed as a National Park, since most of the traffic these days is parked instead of moving. The proposed redevelopment can't come soon enough for travellers using the route north of Tauranga, as any plans to add lanes and bypass townships are many years too late for the amount of traffic already trying to use it. This road on most days is down to a crawl, especially from Bethlehem to Omokoroa. Throw in a serious accident like the one on Tuesday near Katikati, and you've many hours of delays, with no viable alternate. Unless you fancy the Kaimai-Te Aroha-Paeroa scenic route. It would be easier to stick a fastpost stamp on your forehead and crawl into a NZ Post mailbox.
Looming trouble
SunLive, as usual, carried all the breaking news alerts to warn travellers that trouble loomed. And SunLive also put out the advice from police as soon as the road was re-opened. The comment sections of SunLive and the Facebook page were rife with criticism from readers, annoyed that a non-fatal crash still paralysed the Western half of the province for many hours and comments such as 'third world” sprang from the frustrated text on many occasions. We can't blame the road for all the traffic woes, however. Everyone needs to take responsibility for their own driving, while the road does need improvement, there is no accounting for idiotic drivers. The majority of the crashes resulted in someone crossing the centreline, so in other words, not paying attention to what they are doing or taking stupid risks. Driving is a responsibility, not a right. 
Some NZ drivers seem to have taken all their road skills learning from that early 1980s instructional driving documentary, which follows the journey of a young man from Northland to Bluff in a yellow Mini.
Bring it on
But when the proverbial does hit the fan, the impact on the arterials is major. No alternatives, no second lanes to divert traffic… So please, good people at NZTA, bring us a new road, while we still have the sanity to appreciate it. In the meantime, SunLive will continue to do our best to bring you the traffic updates, delay points and closures as soon as its humanly possible to glean from emergency services, or from updates from our loyal readers and tipsters. The best way to help keep your fellow travellers updated is to ring the 0800SUNLIVE (786 548) news hotline or ping a photo to newsroom@thesun.co.nz Our network of informants is ever expanding, which helps us provide you with all the local breaking news, plus a FREE service so you can manage your travel plans more efficiently. We can get word out much faster than the officials, who are busy dealing with the immediate issues and often tied up in red tape and procedure. SunLive readers, on the other hand, can tell us directly what they see, report it instantly to us on mobile devices, which we can in turn share with you immediately to your mobile devices. Even better, flick us a photo if you can squeeze off a sneaky shot. And join up free on SunLive to receive breaking news alerts, so you're always kept 'in the loop.” So if you need a belated New Year resolution, can I suggest its 'keep SunLive updated/ keep myself updated on SunLive” so we can all plan our travel better, avoid the bottlenecks and make it to Bethlehem for a flat white. Hopefully before the dog gets the muffin as well.