Latest news with #Pāpāmoa
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Tauranga truck driver acquitted of careless driving after Pāpāmoa cyclist's death
By Hannah Bartlett, Open Justice reporter of Pāpāmoa cyclist Bryan Marris was killed in collision with a truck at the intersection of Mt Maunganui's Hewletts Rd and Tasman Quay in April 2023. Photo: Supplied/NZ Herald As truck driver Kelly Shearer turned the corner from Mount Maunganui's Hewletts Rd on to Tasman Quay, he felt a bump, which he thought was a pothole. As his trailer came around, he felt it again. He slammed on his brakes, got out and saw a cyclist lying on the ground. He told police that when he saw the man, he "knew he was gone". Cyclist Bryan Marris was 59, and a regular cycle commuter from Pāpāmoa Beach. He died at the scene. Shearer was charged with careless driving causing death, with the police alleging Marris was "there to be seen" and Shearer was careless by not properly checking the way was clear before he turned left. The defence case was the collision was an accident - Shearer was a careful and prudent driver, and the accident occurred nonetheless. The police cordon at the intersection of Hewletts Rd and Tasman Quay after cyclist Bryan Marris was killed in a collision with a left-turning truck, driven by Kelly Shearer. Photo: NZME Now, a judge has acquitted the man, deciding the road layout contributed to the accident, as the road markings did not clearly indicate who had right of way through the intersection. Judge Melinda Mason presided over a one-day, judge-alone trial in February and reserved her decision, which was recently released to NZME. In it she said it was "not clear beyond a reasonable doubt that a reasonable and prudent driver would see a cyclist attempting to pass on the left in the circumstances that confronted Mr Shearer". It was an outcome Marris' wife Brenda told NZME was both disappointing and unexpected. Commuter cyclist Bryan Marris was heading home, and travelling in a designated cycle lane next to the truck. Photo: Supplied "Whatever the outcome, nothing will bring our Bryan back and we have to come to terms with that," she said. "Cyclists are definitely underclass road users and we hope that attitudes will change to respect their space and provide them with more safety." During the trial, the court heard that Shearer had more than 30 years of experience as a truck driver. On April 28, 2023, he was carting containers from the pulp store on Waimarie St in Mount Maunganui to the port at Sulphur Point and, having completed the first delivery of the day, was returning to Waimarie St to pick up another load. He travelled along Tasman Quay when traffic was congested, and it was about 4.15pm when he approached the intersection, intending to turn left. A map of the crash intersection. Photo: Supplied/NZ Herald At the same time, regular commuter Marris had finished work and was cycling home. The judge's decision said the CCTV footage showed him "cycling at a good pace from the city as he approaches the intersection". As the light turned green, Shearer flicked on his left indicator, and checked his wing mirrors, but didn't see Marris. Marris, who was in a designated cycle lane next to the truck, took off straight ahead. Seconds later, the two collided. The experts said Shearer was indicating for about 12 seconds and when he began turning, Marris had been in his blind spot for just over four seconds. The fatal impact occurred 0.52 seconds after the truck started to turn. The judge said Marris was seen cycling at a consistent speed, not slowing on his approach nor hesitating at the intersection as he entered it. Police pointed to the fact Marris had a forward-facing flashing light on and was in his own designated lane, as he was entitled to be. They said Shearer did not pause before making his turn, cutting across Marris' cycle lane without ensuring it was clear. However, the judge's decision said the cycle lane stopped at a solid limit line and did not continue through the intersection, recommencing on the other side of the intersection. "Marris was not in a cycle lane at the time of the collision and had no right of way across the intersection when underpassing left-turning vehicles," Judge Mason said. She noted the road layout had now changed. The cycle lane finishes earlier and directs cyclists on to a footpath well before the intersection. Green cycle lane markings that indicated an "advanced stop box" have been removed. Judge Mason said it was now "very clear" the lane did not proceed through the intersection and left-turning traffic had right of way. "These changes reflect an acknowledgement that the road layout contributed to the accident by its lack of clarity..." An NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) spokesperson confirmed alterations to the line markings were made in May 2024, following an engineer's safety report. "While it is legal for cyclists who wish to stay on the road, the changes were prompted by the tragic death of cyclist Bryan Marris, to provide an alternative route." However, the spokesperson also noted it wasn't usual practice for a painted cycle lane to be marked through an intersection. "The indication of a cycle way symbol and green paint on the other side of the intersection is the continuation of the cycle lane through the intersection." NZTA's safety guidelines remind cyclists to "be aware", including watching for car doors opening, potholes and pedestrians, and always checking for left-turning vehicles. This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
RNZ News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Tauranga Mayor finally buys home in city – but isn't moving in yet
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale in his new top floor office at 90 Devonport. Photo: LDR / Brydie Thompson Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale has bought a house in Pāpāmoa, but won't move with his family from Cambridge until the end of the school year. Drysdale told Local Democracy Reporting he and his wife Juliette decided not to "uproot" their primary school-aged children mid-year to avoid disruption. Juliette was also doing a teacher training course and had a lot of family support in Cambridge, Drysdale said. "It's a little bit challenging from a family perspective, but we're all looking forward to being together again at the end of the year." After being elected in July, Drysdale said he would move to Tauranga by the end of last year. "The plan was to be here this year, but not having a base and finding a home made that challenging." Drysdale came under fire in February for not living in the city he was elected to lead, despite his election comments. He said this week Tauranga's housing shortage and schools that were "very hard to get into" had made finding a home difficult. "You've got to be in zone of the schools that you want to go to." The city's housing situation was an eye-opener, Drysdale said. Tauranga was one of the most unaffordable cities in the country to rent or buy a home, he said. They had hoped for a house in the Avenues area so the children could go to the same schools he did. Drysdale attended Tauranga Primary, Tauranga Intermediate and Tauranga Boys' College. They had to pivot and settled on a home in Pāpāmoa, he said. "Finding the right place was hard, but we're very happy with what we've got." Despite buying a property, Drysdale said he would continue to stay with his mum when in Tauranga until the family moved. "Once we made the decision not to uproot our children until the end of this year, and with the limited amount of time I spend at home when working, we made the decision to rent the house out on a short-term basis until we move in." Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale said he and the council were building a city for future generations. Photo: LDR / Brydie Thompson It also meant he could spend more time with his mum, who had some health challenges. He was in Tauranga from Monday to Friday, and if he had events at the weekend, the family would come to stay. It was hard being away from the family, but not too dissimilar to when he was rowing and would be overseas for three months. Drysdale retired from rowing in 2021 as a two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion in the single sculls. "We make it work. They [the children] love it here, being with grandma and the beach so they're really excited about coming over", he said. "I promised to move here, and we will absolutely fulfil that promise. It's just a year later than we hoped." According to his financial interests declaration, Drysdale was already the beneficiary of a trust that owns seven rental properties - two each in Auckland, Hamilton, and Cambridge, and one in Mount Maunganui. The trust also owned family residences in Cambridge and Mount Maunganui and two commercial properties. Drysdale, who was a financial adviser between his rowing and local government careers, said he was enjoying being Mayor but it was a "very challenging position". "This is a business managing around $8 billion of assets. With the Annual Plan we're looking at spending and investing over $1b in the next financial year." Tauranga had an infrastructure deficit and the council needed to fill that while balancing affordability for ratepayers, he said. The draft 12 percent rates rise for 2025/26 has attracted criticism and claims it will be unaffordable for ratepayers. Drysdale has said the council was working to get it down to 10 percent. "Some people are struggling and we acknowledge that. On the flip side, there's a lot of people that are very encouraging about what's happening in the city and they want to see more things delivered. "We're trying to deliver is a city that people want to live in. It's for future generations. We're looking out to 30 years and what do we need in that time." He said the city's potential was "pretty exciting". His favourite part of the job was the monthly citizenship ceremonies. "It's such a fantastic occasion. Seeing the joy of people that have moved from around the world to choose Tauranga as the place they want to be. "Overall, I'm really enjoying the role and all that comes with it." LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
10-05-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Tauranga flood map update a ‘win' for landowners, developers
Flooding in Pāpāmoa in 2005. Maps used for Tauranga's Plan Change 27 will now be updated. Photo: John Borren / NZME Tauranga property owners have had a "significant win" after the council agreed to update flood maps, a developer says. Tauranga City Council is making Plan Change 27 - Flooding from Intense Rainfall operative after three years of legal wrangling. The plan change has had legal effect since 2020, when it was notified for public consultation. It introduced rules to manage flood risks and the effects of flooding on people, properties and infrastructure. These impacted what could be built on land deemed a flood risk. The council also released new flood hazard maps for the city based on a one-in-100-year storm scenario and accounting for climate change forecasts. The maps deemed 30,400 properties at risk of flooding - thousands more than under the previous modelling. An independent hearing panel heard submissions on the plan change and the decision to approve it was notified in April 2022. Twenty parties took three appeals to the Environment Court. The cases were settled in mediation, avoiding a hearing. Tauranga's Urban Task Force (UTF), which represents property owners, developers and businesses, was one appellant. The UTF cited significant errors and inaccuracies, claiming the maps did not show the most up-to-date flooding information. The task force also believed the plan change would hurt property values across the city. Through the court process, the council agreed to keep the flood maps updated so they could be relied upon by developers and landowners. Scott Adams Photo: Bay of Plenty Times UTF chairperson Scott Adams, managing director of development company Carrus, said all parties generally accepted there were technical errors and issues with the mapping. "(The) council has accepted through the appeal that a site-specific technical assessment on flooding will now prevail over the indicative maps that are currently shown on the council's online GIS (mapping tool) layer. "This is a significant win for the UTF on behalf of property developers and landowners," Adams said in a statement. "They can now get a simple stormwater engineering assessment to override the mapping. "This will be particularly useful where there are errors with the flood modelling and map outputs." The council also agreed that whenever its stormwater model was updated using more up-to-date or site-specific information, this would prevail over the indicative flood hazard areas depicted in its GIS layer. Other concerns raised by UTF about how roadworks might affect flooding were also addressed in the new consent provisions issued by the Environment Court. Adams said roads were designed to help carry stormwater during major floods. UTF's concern was if the council improved roads - like raising the height or adding engineering features - it could cause floodwater to spill onto nearby properties or reduce the ability of stormwater to flow along the roads, he said. Because of this, Plan Change 27 was altered and neighbours must now be notified if roadworks could cause flooding on their properties. Policies have also been updated to focus on reducing flood risks, rather than just managing activities. The goal was to ensure that activity still maintained suitable overland flows that water takes during floods, instead of restricting the activities themselves. The Environment Court consent order was signed off by Judge Kelvin Reid in March. The council approved the plan change at a meeting on 28 April. It would become operative on Tuesday 13 May. City planning team leader Janine Speedy said the process started after Tauranga had significant flooding events in 2005, 2010, 2011 and 2013. The council then looked at how it could better manage risk from flooding, Speedy told the meeting. An integrated stormwater project was started, and Plan Change 27 was the regulatory response for this, Speedy said. Prior to 2020, the council didn't have any flooding rules in the City Plan and Plan Change 27 introduced those rules, she said. The council had an ongoing flood modelling programme to ensure its information was up to date, Speedy said. Councillor Glen Crowther said it was helpful to have the issues dealt with through the legal process. It was important to get it right and there was a lot of effort put into it to ensure that happened, he said. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
