Heretaunga Street

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Heretaunga Street [Heer-ee-toe-nga in British Accent] is the main East-West artery through Hastings City in New Zealand.

[edit] Road Size

It starts in Havelock North where it goes under the name Havelock Road, and runs for 2.3 Km (1.43 Miles) until it officially goes by the name Heretaunga Street; it then runs for another 1.8 Km (1.13 miles) until it stops at Russell Street where the railway line runs through the city and through the city's fountain. Then the street continues for another 120 Metres (390 feet) as a traffic-free road, where the road is a large public footpath, tree garden and cafe seating area. Then, from Railway Road for another 1.56 Km (1 mile) as Heretaunga Street. Then at the area known as Stortford Lodge, at a road called Maraekakaho Rd, a ring road then changes the name to Omahu Road, where it continues for another 6.75 Km (4.2 miles) where it reaches State Highway 50 at a place called Omahu, hence the name of the street. In total Heretaunga Street runs for 12.75 Km (8 miles) from Omahu near Flaxmere to Havelock North, but the road only runs for 3.7 Km (2.3 miles) under its proper name.

The road is on average two lanes wide (one northbound & one southbound) and has a large parking shoulders on either side. The road (including sidewalk and not including houses) has an average width of approximately 19.2 meters.

[edit] Traffic

Hawkes Bay has a low population and is not prone to traffic problems, and the gridiron plan of Hastings lets traffic move away quickly, but the importance of Heretaunga Street means traffic can be sometimes slow through the central city and the 12 round-a-bouts can cause some traffic during rush hour or when accidents occur.

[edit] Importance as a Road

Heretaunga Street is known as the biggest of the main North-South arteries in Hastings, being the only one that goes straight from Flaxmere to Havelock North. The road is also the only one that runs through the middle of the Central Business Districts and is home to much of Hastings' commerce and trade, where at the center of the Street, at the CBD it is a 2.2 kilometer shopping strip, and at the very center in the town fountain and clock tower is a pedestrian-only section where large stores meet cafés, restaurants and tall office blocks. This is generally known as the 'downtown' or 'central city' of Hastings.