Bay of Plenty letters: Get people out of cars to help ease congestion

Getting people out of cars will help solve Tauranga's traffic problems, a reader says.

Regarding road congestion: It's not so much infrastructure not keeping up, the question is why the infrastructure isn't in place beforehand.

Roading has been slow and confusing with Te Okuroa Drive link opening to an area where there are few houses, yet The Boulevard link-up isn't proposed to start until 2021.

The Boulevard is a great alternative to the congested Pāpāmoa Beach Rd for all of Golden Sands, Emerald Shores and Palm Springs residents.

One thing I am grateful for are the bike lanes on our new roads and the pathways along the Pāpāmoa drainage system making progress.

This is a vital link-up that will get more students on bikes. This I hope would reduce the number of parents dropping their kids at school.

With the advent of e-bikes, more people are considering this as a great alternative way to get to work but, with our roads not being bike friendly, it takes this alternative away. Pāpāmoa Beach Rd desperately needs a bike lane.

There are plenty of buses out here which we are grateful for but they take too long to get you to work. They work for some but not for most.

Get people out of cars, improve the roads we have by adding bike lanes and utilise a rail track that is already there. (Abridged)

Vivienne Swney

Pāpāmoa Beach

A big thanks

A big thank you to the people involved in putting up historic photo boards along The Strand showing the history of the Tauranga Jazz Festival.

It was great to see how far the Tauranga Jazz Festival has come over the years and the talent and involvement of many local people.

Catherine Stewart

Ōtūmoetai

Dissension and division

Prominent religious leaders' proclamations that the expressions of faith practised by their followers are the only truth do not help, especially when the nation is still bearing raw wounds from extreme bigotry. Such statements sow seeds of dissension and division, something that we pray our nation will be free from every time we sing our national anthem.

Ian Young

Pāpāmoa

The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters from readers. Please note the following:

• Letters should not exceed 200 words.

• They should be opinion based on facts or current events.

• If possible, please email.

• No noms-de-plume.

• Letters will be published with names and suburb/city.

• Please include full name, address and contact details for our records only.

• Local letter writers given preference.

• Rejected letters are not normally acknowledged.

• Letters may be edited, abridged, or rejected at the Editor's discretion.

• The Editor's decision on publication is final.

Email editor@bayofplentytimes.co.nz