Upset Vale St residents describe the pedestrian crossing where an elderly man was killed by a car as "dangerous" and want it moved to further down the street to a safer location.
Roberta Budvietas and her husband have lived opposite the crossing for three years, and strongly believe this pedestrian walkway had been located in the wrong place.
Mrs Budvietas said she was with 87-year-old Cyril Jaggard when he died on Vale St on Thursday.
"I did not see him get hit but I was there within two minutes and watched him die. He [Mr Jaggard] died two minutes after the ambulance arrived. It's very sad and tragic, and this was a tragedy waiting to happen," she said.
Mrs Budvietas said while it was not the worst pedestrian crossing in the city, she would score it at "8.5 or 9 out of 10" in terms of how dangerous it was.
"Lots of people use this crossing particularly when doing their shopping at Countdown, plus there are heaps of children going to and home from school who using it daily."
Mrs Budvietas said there had been numerous near misses over the years, and she and other local residents often heard screeching tyres and angry voices.
Some local pensioners were reluctant to use it for that reason, she said.
"Cars just don't stop when they are turning from Bureta Rd into Vale St or coming from the other end of Vale St," she said.
Trucks making deliveries at Countdown only exacerbated the situation, she said.
Mrs Budvietas and her husband said the intersection layout was also part of the problem.
Cars moving into Vale St from Bureta Rd, and those coming from the other end of Vale St often converged at this intersection, potentially blocking each other's view, they said.
Another long term Vale St resident, who did not wish to be named, said he did not believe moving the pedestrian crossing would make any difference.
"If it was moved further down people would be unlikely to walk up to use it, which would create a larger problem of people crossing the road in front of cars. The real problem is that 19 out of 20 cars turning left from Bureta to Vale St don't stop at the stop sign."
While the was at this intersection our reporter saw several cars drive straight through the Bureta Rd -Vale St stop sign, and numerous others did not come to complete stop.
On a New Zealand petition website Tauranga woman Stacey Bishop has called on people to add their voices to her call for the crossing to be moved or some other safety measures to be made to it.
"After seeing a life lost at this crossing it has motivated me to have something done about it. If this crossing is made more visible by having lights, bright red speed bumps, or if it is moved further down the road we can lessen the risk of this happening again."
Ms Bishop intends presenting her petition to Tauranga City Council.
"This crossing is known to be a hazard. After speaking to council they have told me that the more people who are concerned about this intersection the more likely something will be done about," she said.
Hundreds of people have also shared their concerns on the community Facebook pages.
The petition has already gained plenty of support online.
Katrina Proctor said she lived on the 'one way' road where Chapel St veered into Vale St and she was "sick of the abuse" she received when pulling into her driveway from people speeding.
"I'm all for your petition and will add in that we need speed bumps . . . it's a super serious problem."
Murray Spicer said he used the area each day and ''have seen a few close calls".
Martin Parkes, Council's transportation manager, said the pedestrian crossing had ben there more than 10 years.
"There were six recorded crashes in the last five years in that area but not all were associated with the pedestrian crossing. Two of those were minor injury crashes and the rest were non-injuries," he said.
Mr Parkes said council had not received any complaints about the Vale St pedestrian crossing in the last 12 months, however floodlights were added last year.
"After every fatal crash our staff undertake a fatal crash investigation. In conjunction with the police report, this will help inform us whether any further safety measures need to be considered in the area", he said.