Tauranga City Council's trialling a new approach, to turn back the tide on the use of road cones

Council's road maintenance contract manager, Garry Oakes, says for straightforward jobs on quiet roads - like painting line markings - the traffic management set up can take longer than the job itself.

He says the new method involves using traffic signals mounted on the back of a vehicle and a traffic management team.

Oakes says the new approach is less intrusive for residents and means they'll likely quadruple their output.

The trial will extend to high traffic volume roads and and will continue until July.