The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Below you can read the letters we have published in our newspaper today.
TODAY'S LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Lights the solution to Bayfair problem
Re: Bayfair roundabout upgrade. A recent report on this $1.2 million investigation nonsense shows just how little respect the
Government and local government bureaucracy have for taxpayer and ratepayer funds.
The short-term solution at Bayfair is simple - put in traffic lights (use the 15th Avenue, Tauranga model), honestly it is a no-brainer.
I doubt the cost would exceed $1.2 million and it must be a major improvement on the Bayfair roundabout, which does not work effectively or fairly at present anyway.
The investment in traffic lights won't be wasted because they will undoubtedly be required in the future.
Don't worry about a possible flyover or other things in the bye and bye - deal with this urgent traffic problem now. All public comments to date have panned the NZTA investigation.
R PATERSON Matapihi
Future councillors
The good news is that Tauranga voters appear to be thinking about their future.
The bad news is the difficulty we all face, to make constructive change.
What we want, and need, from our councillor candidates is a basic understanding of numbers. If we don't have money, we can't spend it.
We also require the councillors to take back delegated authority, so that projects are no longer solutions to a problem, that councillors have not yet identified or debated.
As a humble and somewhat reluctant spokesperson for a large group of concerned citizens, it has become my task to suggest candidates, who could understand the management of finances, and accurately predict the consequences of mis-management.
In the process of assessing 31 responses from 46 candidates, including eight of the nine sitting councillors, we can confidently suggest three candidates who have the ability to bring us back from a perceived financial crisis.
Those candidates, in no particular order, are Mark Groos, Nigel Stichbury and John Robson.
Mayor Crosby and Bill Faulkner chose not to respond to our questions, and Mr Crosby copied his email to me, signalling that decision, to sixteen other candidates, who mostly also chose not to respond.
For that reason, we have been unable to consider those candidates.
We also felt that the public is well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of current councillors.
Other candidates from the new crop, worth consideration from our assessment of their responses are; Steve Morris, Bonnie Leonard, Robert Davies, Richard Moore, Michael Morris, Jonnie Mead, Tony Young and Graham Skellern.
GRAHAM H CLARKE Avenues
Law gives way
Well Steven Joyce is changing the give way law.
Why?
Because we are out of step with the rest of the world, it will save one to two lives a year and the experience in Victoria, Australia shows this.
But the drink driving laws?
No reduction in the blood alcohol level allowed because the Australian (and other countries) experience is not good enough evidence and figures showing it would save 15-33 lives a year not a good enough reason.
And even if it is put to the vote in parliament it will be a conscience vote.
Mr Joyce, where is your head at?
ANDREW TOMLINSON Omokoroa
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