18 Aug 2025: Wharenui lights, crime, diesel spill

Media: Local Democracy Reporter

Topic: Wharenui Rd lights

Enquiry

Hey team, we have had a few reports from the public about the new traffic lights on Wharenui Rd causing big delays to their commute in and out of the city in recent days.

I know that the road and the traffic lights is more of an NZTA issue but aware the whole project was in partnership with RLC so wanted to get your input if possible.

Questions below:

1. Have Council received any complaints from the public about the new road layout on Wharenui Rd since they were turned on August 6?
2. What role has RLC played in the project to install the traffic lights?
3. Why are they important to the area?
4. Finally, did RLC communicate the traffic light switch on in any way prior to Aug 6? (I see there was an NZTA release, so even if that was reshared in anyway would be all good as well)?

Any other comment around this that you would wish to share would be greatly appreciated.

Response

From Group Manager – Infrastructure and Assets Stavros Michael:

1. This is a significant road improvement project, and like many such projects, there may be temporary impacts on traffic flow. Council has received only one complaint about this which was passed on to NZTA which is undertaking the work.

2. Since 2016, Rotorua Lakes Council, through the “Connect Rotorua Project,” has been advocating for long-term improvements to the capacity and safety of Rotorua’s main State Highway corridors. The works at the Wharenui/SH30 intersection are part of Stage 2 upgrades to the eastern corridor and are designed to improve access from Wharenui Road, where there is significant housing growth and increased traffic volumes. The new traffic signals are a key part of improvements to help manage traffic flow and enhance safety.

3. It’s important to manage the connection between local roads and the State Highways to keep traffic moving safely and efficiently, particularly in areas like this where we are experiencing, or where there is the potential for, significant growth. Installing traffic signals is a well-recognised way to achieve this.

4. Not on this occasion.

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Media: NZHerald

Topic: Crime in Rotorua

Enquiry

Enquiry sent to Mayor Tapsell

I was wondering about your availability for a quick interview today regarding crime in Rotorua. I see there have been several new initiatives recently including more CBD police foot patrols to tackle retail crime, an inner-city community safety hub and more CCTV cameras, and that crime there has generally been dropping.

I am writing up a story on the latest statistics for serious and persistent youth offenders. The numbers in Bay of Plenty have been falling each month since mid-2024 (mirroring the national trend) and rose slightly for the month in Feb (again mirroring national trends).

A briefing from Oranga Tamariki in April said despite the drop, Bay of Plenty, Central and Eastern are the only areas where the numbers have gone up compared to the baseline data (June 2023).

“Most of the increase in Bay of Plenty is due to increases in all offence types in Rotorua,” the briefing said.

Would be great to include a comment from you for my story, if you're available

Many thanks and kind regards

Response

The following response was provided:

any questions relating to crime/offence stats would be better directed to Police as we don’t hold that type of data.

Mayor Tapsell is happy to provide the following comments about safety initiatives though.

From Rotorua Mayor, Tania Tapsell –

“We've been focused on real and rapid safety improvements and have seen positive results from the opening of a Community Safety Hub and our partnership with local Police who've also been working hard to reduce crime.

“Rotorua is significantly better now that we're stopping emergency housing motels with support from Government. There was a strong connection between a proliferation of emergency housing and crime, so it's a relief to locals to see the end of this.

“Lots of locals are loving that we've secured more Police in town and the feedback from businesses who are feeling more confident has been great.”

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Media: 1News

Topic: Diesel spill

Enquiry

Reporter sought information about diesel spill into Puarenga waterway following last week’s fatal diesel tanker crash south of the city

Response

This enquiry was referred to the BOP Regional Council which is dealing with this.