Parents with children do not want to park on Cliff Rd, they want to park close to where their children will be playing.
What is the cost and how much involvement was there from ratepayers who end up paying and also not being able to park downtown?
Mike Baker
Tauranga
Stop thinking cars are king
Tauranga CBD has been dying for years, and when there’s an initiative to create places for people to linger and use the CBD, it’s still no good.
I love the idea of the waterfront being developed as a park and playground, so much better than a carpark.
I applaud the council for getting on with these types of projects as we’ve been waiting so long.
Maybe it’s also time to stop thinking that cars are king... take the bus, walk or bike to go into the centre to support the city businesses.
Ciska Vogelzang
Tauranga
Project was lacking any real homework
I was a little surprised that the Spring St carpark needed a seismic upgrade to the extent that Tauranga City Council had to approve $5.79 million for this work.
A carpark is a simple basic structure of concrete and steel.
To now add an extra $1m, of which $600,000 is a design change indicates, in my view, that there is something seriously wrong.
This is a building constructed many years ago which has served us well.
The council would have the original plans plus the as-built records.
Surely an upgrade from 25 per cent to 67 per cent of the building standards should be a simple exercise with the only real costs being the labour and materials to reach that standard.
Design and overhead costs would be minimal.
The siting of the cabling, plumbing, etc, would be specified in the original plans, so why were they a surprise?
In my view, it seems the project was lacking any real homework right at the start.
Bill Capamagian
Tauranga
The real job of police is being neglected
Jarrod Gilbert’s column (Opinion, October 17) surprised me with its revelations about police duties and their attendance at scenes which should be the responsibility of mental health teams.
It seems, due to staff shortages in both health and law enforcement, that they only attend a third of these events and they’re often tied up for hours with matters that they’re not entirely qualified for.
Thus, their real job, centred around criminal offending and public safety, is being neglected - as many who’ve experienced property crime can attest to.
We could appoint qualified teams, increase police numbers and put more uniformed staff on the beat. These measures would make a difference, but we also need to attack the underlying causes of mental health problems and criminal offending.
One can hope that a new broom in the Beehive will usher in change - but one should not hold one’s breath.
John Williams
Ngongotahā
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