Letters: Silly season continues on Mount Maunganui pedestrian crossings

There is no doubting the fact that for vehicles at the Mount it is silly season, with big queues and much frustration.

Several pedestrian crossings are immediately at the exits of roundabouts, causing roundabouts to get totally blocked with stationary vehicles waiting while a stream of people crossing.

The stoppages further reduce traffic flow. The whole situation feels very unsafe to me with vehicles often having to stop suddenly.

The pedestrian crossing at Salisbury Avenue is particularly frustrating, with merging lanes of traffic and a constant stream of pedestrians.

Surely the time has come to review the situation, move these crossings away from the roundabouts, then make some of them pedestrian light operated, especially the Salisbury Avenue one where often only one car is getting through at a time between the constant flow of pedestrians.

B Birss
Mount Maunganui

National MPs road campaigns rich

It is a bit ripe for Simon Bridges to join a 'fix the bloody road' protest walk and for Todd Muller to place signs on the highway that National's highway plans had been dumped.

According to their joint announcement in the Bay of Plenty Times on August 24, 2017, the "lethal highway between Tauranga and Katikati will be four-laned within the next 10 years".

Its new national ranking as a Road of National Significance would allow the consenting phase of the project to be streamlined into just nine months.

I have seen no evidence that any action was taken. However, work was commenced on the Wellington corridor and other significant highways in New Zealand.

The article stated: "With the National Party not fulfilling its 2008 pre-election pledge to fund the whole of Tauranga's central corridor project, people could get cynical about election pledges."

The NZ Transport Agency has re-evaluated the transport plans and released plans for the SH2 corridor to improve safety in the short and medium term, and future population planning in support of this Government's vision for a safer network.

Let's hope Phil Twyford gets on with the job and the NZ Transport Agency does not have to rewrite for the third time.

(Abridged)

R E Stephens
Papamoa East