So many Cambridge Roads…

Chief fire officer Dennis Hunt.

Cambridge’s fire chief has echoed readers’ concerns about the ongoing confusion around some street and road names in the town.

Waipā District Council says it would only look at the issue if a petition was presented.

Taxi drivers and residents have contacted The News following Deborah Christiansen’s letter calling for the section of Cambridge Road from Vogel Street through to just north of Hooker Road to be renamed Hamilton Road.

“We already have Cambridge Road going from Leamington to Te Awamutu,” she said.

Hunt said having two Cambridge Roads either side of the Waikato River was confusing for emergency services, but recent mobile phone technology had made it easier.

“The only grace for us now is they (emergency operators) fire us a cross reference when they can so we might get Cambridge Road/Kaipaki Road and we know which way we are going,” he said.

Payne Park on the left and the Town Belt on the right, the site of the former borough boundary and the start of Cambridge Road heading to Hamilton. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Taxi driver Rickstar Tipene said some numbers appeared on both roads.

“Confusion comes with taxis when people call and ask for a taxi, they give (the) address and don’t give further details. It’s not until the addresses are over 1913 that we can be clear of which road it is.”

Marie-Clare Jones said she was new to Cambridge.

“We did find it quite confusing to start with and we do wonder if visitors get confused by it too.”

Yvonne Lomey said with all the development happening between the Velodrome and Cambridge, now was the right time to rename the road.

“Sure a few places would have their address changed but not that many if they get on and do it now before all the new building gets completed.”

Michael Pearson said he typed Cambridge Road into his car’s GPS and onto Maps on his phone and the default road was the Cambridge Road leading to Hamilton Road.

“It is therefore a point of confusion.”

Anne Phipps said she once had a phone call from a friend who was looking at cows in Cambridge Road near Leamington when she should have been on the other side of the river.

Waipā District Growth and Regulatory Services group manager Wayne Allan said the council could only act to change the name of the road if there was public/resident support.

“Unless we get a petition signed by a majority of affected residents along Cambridge Road (Hamilton section) requesting council to consider a road name change for their address we will not be advancing this matter further,” he told Christiansen last year when she first raised the issue with the council.

At the time Allan said he was unaware of any confusion with emergency services.

“Whilst it is not the ideal situation having two name locations for Cambridge Road, on balance, it is not considered such a problem to warrant the significant time and upheaval it would create with affected residents if we decided to change it.”

The point where the nearly 20km long Cambridge Road comes to an end and becomes Hamilton Road. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Cambridge Road starts in Hamilton at the intersection of Naylor Street and Wairere Drive weaving through Hillcrest and out to Tamahere along the Waikato Expressway until the western off ramp to Cambridge.

The first time it appears in Waipā district, according to the council’s Geographic Information System, is at 1466 Cambridge Road, putting it 14.66kms from the start. It then finishes at 1913 Cambridge Road, the new commercial development opposite Payne Park and the Water Tower.

That is next to what was the old Cambridge borough boundary and the start of the town belt.

Hamilton Road starts at the Vogel Street intersection – where confusion reigns according to one resident – and ends at the St Andrew’s roundabout.

“I’ve seen people get out of their cars and stare at the signpost or argue in their cars and do a u turn and head back the way they came,” she said.

The point where Pope Terrace in Leamington becomes Cambridge Road leading to Te Awamutu. Photo: Jeremy Smith.