Letters: Speed signs a waste of time

Speed signs on the Kaimai Range are a waste of time, a reader says.

Speed signs a waste of time

As a member of the Automobile Association, I am disappointed in their attitude to the advisory speed signs on the Kaimai highway.

At the time the signs were appearing I predicted in a letter to your newspaper that such technology would be a waste of our road taxes because it would not be implemented wisely. I had always believed that the signs were activated by some bureaucrat in Auckland, although your articles say they are weather activated. They are next to useless and should be scrapped.

Recently I travelled to the Waikato. The 80kmh limit was flashing at the start – Soldiers Road. The road was dry until we reached Hanga Road when it was damp, presumably because of mist coming through the gap.

On the other hand, some time ago, going down the Waikato side in rain and fog and heavy traffic, they were presumably justified, but as I was concentrating on not crashing into the vehicle ahead, there was no time to take my eyes off the road to check the sign.

When will the NZTA, the police and the AA learn that if 9000 vehicles a day can use that highway, with no incidents most days, that the drivers themselves can use common sense and adjust their speed? Yes, we have all noted exceptions among drivers, and they will eventually crash, not necessarily on that stretch of the road nor that day. We should take the parroting of support by the representatives of NZTA and the police with a grain of salt. Their jobs depend on supporting a flawed system.

Stop creating criminals among many 9000 drivers a day who use that highway.

Bill Capamagian
Tauranga

City condemned to a cultural death

A vibrant museum is the beating heart of a city's culture.

By voting against a museum in Tauranga, the council leaders have potentially condemned the city to a cultural death. While grieving this decision, I encourage the "museum believers" not to bury their hopes in bureaucracy.

The people of Tauranga and our visitors still need a designated space to give them a sense of place. Part of a modern museum's appeal is that it can offer users of all ages exhibition spaces, events, a cafe, workshops, a shop and "play -spaces".

As New Zealand's fifth largest city, our history-making growth needs to be recorded, displayed and enjoyed. The best of museums in other New Zealand towns are not stuffy but visually exciting, interactive and architecturally notable. The worst must be in Tauranga, where the heritage collection of over 30,000 items is hidden away in storage over at the Mount somewhere or in the library's archive room.

It would be visionary to breathe new life into these treasures or taonga by giving them a centralised purpose-built home.

The museum is not dead, Tauranga still needs a vibrant city heart, a place we can all use and be proud of.

Jocelyn Mist
Bethlehem

No idyllic existence

In response to Wesley Parish (Letters, June 5) - you write as if Israel has an idyllic existence. If you remove your rose-coloured glasses and take a good look at Middle East affairs, plus review the United Nations and its attitude to Israel, you might understand some of my concerns.

Joy Z Marks
Greerton