Improvements on the way for Paetiki shops

The Paetiki shops and surrounding roads are about to get a $200,000 makeover to make it a safer, more attractive and more user-friendly environment.

The work is set to start in early November and will feature a small number of new car parks, a redeveloped mobility car park, improved landscaping on the corner and visibility and safety improvements on Taharepa Road. The project was budgeted for in the Long-term Plan after a submission asking for improvements to the area.

Project manager Nick Beacock said the car parks would go in near SuperValue Paetiki, and the mobility car park would be located on Rifle Range Road in a location determined after discussion with Access Taupō.

Mr Beacock said the landscaping work would see new shrubs and grasses planted in a garden area on the corner, new seating and a bike rack.

“We are also constructing a pedestrian refuge island on Taharepa Road to help people get across safely and make them more visible to traffic,” he said.

Unfortunately for the duration of the work, there was likely to be disruptions to traffic flow and increased noise from heavy machinery.

“We are trying to minimise the inconvenience by having our contractors Camex Civil doing the most disruptive of the work outside of peak traffic hours,” he said.

The work is expected to start in early November and be completed by the end of that month.