Brian Kelly: Resolutions worth sticking to

We are seven days into 2012 and I thought it was timely to look at New Year's resolutions.

Not so much the resolutions that we have made - and have probably broken already - but some that the Tauranga City councillors may have made on our behalf for the year ahead.

A kind of wish list, really.

New Year's resolutions are a kind of goal or challenge.

Every New Year's eve, many of us make them. They can range from aiming at losing a certain amount of weight to paying off debt, such as credit cards.

One of the most common is to give up smoking. And with the recent price rise for tobacco products that's probably now one of the easier ones to stick with.

So let's have a look at a wish list of New Year's resolutions made by councillors on our behalf for the next 12 months.

For 2012, we would like to build a mid Avenues access road to link up with the toll road to provide south-bound traffic with an entry point that will save the trip to Third Ave.

With the toll rise for cars, we need to get more vehicles on to Route K and make it easier to access the Kaimais.

A real fear is that with the rise to $1.50 for cars, the number of users may drop off.

The second resolution is to get on and complete The Strand reclamation, making it user-friendly for families and getting rid of the world's most picturesque car park.

And that leads to Resolution No3 - replacing the lost car parks on the reclamation with a new parking building for the central city.

This will in turn bring more people into the heart of the city, to create a friendly environment.

And while on the subject of The Strand, we would love to take traffic off that particular area altogether and make it a pedestrian mall, which would then encourage more people into the heart of our city.

Another on the resolution list is to get on with developing a central city hotel/conference centre complex. It has been talked about for quite a few years but is yet to eventuate.

Let's make it happen this year.

On watching the Twenty20 cricket matches from Blake Park during the past week on television, it's become clear just how much we need a decent cricket facility.

We have a fabulous ground, now let's work on getting a decent cricket pavilion.

If we can do it with the bowling club down the road then surely we can build a top-class club rooms. That certainly needs to go on the list.

Lately, there has been a bit of bad press about the tourist operators being shut out of the cruise-ship business.

We, as a city, should make our beautiful area available to as many tourist operators as we can, so they can add value to our area.

Let's try and work together on this one for this season and future seasons.

Ah, and the Mount Hot Pools.

Let's move on and get the entire complex completed and up to international standards that will make it a real destination for locals and tourists alike. Let's look at it as an investment in our future.

I know it take take a lot of work and consultation but I am sure a start can be made on some of these resolutions.