{"id":519711,"date":"2026-07-10T19:25:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T19:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/519711\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T19:25:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T19:25:34","slug":"waihi-ratepayers-cover-full-cost-of-new-state-highway-25-pedestrian-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/519711\/","title":{"rendered":"Waih\u012b ratepayers cover full cost of new State Highway 25 pedestrian island"},"content":{"rendered":"

\" The current design layout for the pedestrian island. Photo \/ LDR<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve [NZTA] got limited budgets as well and they\u2019ve got to prioritise where their money is and maybe they don\u2019t see this as a priority but our community does.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get this is probably no different than Orongo Corner … I can understand where they\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, events at either the rugby club or Morgan Park brought so much traffic that \u201cyou\u2019re running the gauntlet to get across a busy stretch of highway\u201d.<\/p>\n

Because the road is a highway, NZTA is the road controlling authority, a Hauraki District Council agenda said.<\/p>\n

However, an NZTA spokesperson told Local Democracy Reporting there was limited funding in the National Land Transport Fund and the priority was \u201cthe maintenance and renewal of existing cycleways and footpaths\u201d.<\/p>\n

The crossing has been on the mayor\u2019s radar for nearly 20 years after seeing his own kids cross the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is actually a moment in time where we\u2019re going to look back and go, \u2018why didn\u2019t we do this sooner?\u2019\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n

\" The road crossing is only set to become busier as nearby sports services grow. Photo \/ Jordan Smith, Waikato Times (single use)<\/p>\n

The cost for the project totalled $86,000 when the council first approved installation in September last year.<\/p>\n

Further work on the location of the crossing increased the cost, council staff said. The new price tag allows for \u201cconsultation with NZTA, further design works, project management and construction of the pedestrian crossing\u201d, according to the agenda.<\/p>\n

The location is \u201cthe best possible\u201d and keeps open the option for a full pedestrian crossing, services delivery group manager Adrian de Laborde said.<\/p>\n

The report was passed unanimously, garnering support from many councillors.<\/p>\n

\" Waih\u012b Ward councillor Austin Rattray knows well the dangers crossing the road holds. Photo \/ Kelly Hodel, Waikato Times<\/p>\n

Waih\u012b general ward councillor Austin Rattray described the road as \u201can accident waiting to happen\u201d. <\/p>\n

He added he was \u201csurprised\u201d there hadn\u2019t been an incident in the last few years given the foot traffic, especially with the developments at Morgan Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur rugby club is so full across the weekend and even on Fridays. In Morgan Park you\u2019ve got squash, you\u2019ve got the pump track,\u201d councillor Amanda Ryan added. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of users using our sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Half of the funding is set to come from the Waih\u012b Ward discretionary fund, with the remaining 30% and 20% funded through the district discretionary fund and council\u2019s access and mobility budget.<\/p>\n

Once finalised, the council agenda read that NZTA has \u201cindicated support\u201d for the project, with the spokesperson adding the organisation will \u201creview the design of the pedestrian refuge island and must approve any works on a state highway\u201d.<\/p>\n

The island is set to be completed in March 2027 pending NZTA approval in September.<\/p>\n

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The current design layout for the pedestrian island. Photo \/ LDR \u201cThey\u2019ve [NZTA] got limited budgets as well…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17311,4187,16123,2070,26755,2514,117,111,43,139,69,1118,33551,25718,13672,26762],"class_list":["post-519711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-17311","tag-cost","tag-cover","tag-full","tag-highway","tag-island","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-pedestrian","tag-ratepayers","tag-state","tag-waih"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}