The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Below you can read the letters we have published in your newspaper today.
TODAY'S LETTERS
More exits needed at alert time
Until an adequate number of exit tracks leading on to the main highway from the Mount and Papamoa areas, for pedestrians and vehicles, have been made and sign-posted the only thing that any form of [tsunami] warning will do is create the biggest bottleneck in New Zealand history.
Moving thousands of vehicles at night in a matter of minutes will take many practice runs.
This will cost time, effort and money.
None of which will be forthcoming.
Defeatist thinking?
No.
Realistic thinking? Yes.
Seventy years on and I still have vivid memories of the rush to get down the steps into the London underground stations during air raids, and we had lots of practice - not so with a tsunami.
Make no mistake, fear drives people's feet quickly.
My wife has suggested to council that access over Ocean Downs Reserve, Sandhurst, should be available in emergencies.
Tracks would not cost a fortune - they do not have to be sealed.
People switch radios and cellphones off at night.
You might be on the beach in a swimsuit or in the water - where is your radio and phone then? What about places that do not have coverage?
(Abridged)
MK Grayson, Papamoa
Inaccurate text
I am not illiterate enough to do much texting, however I noted a particular "text view" (which was anonymous) was totally inaccurate.
Transit New Zealand was the major, if not the total bill-payer, for the Welcome Bay roundabout project as designed by visiting "expert" Barbara Chard.
As it happens, I was not a fan at all of the project and to this day would have preferred an over/under-pass solution, which will probably still need to happen if and when the traffic flow into the city is improved somewhat.
Until then, we have what we have. Anonymous texter, put "pen to paper" as it were and please write us all an educated reply.
(Abridged)
Peter Huxham, Welcome Bay
Double standards
The Bay of Plenty Times recently reported on a high-profile case before the courts.
The professional person concerned is trying to be discharged without conviction. The judge has decided to go away and have a think about it.
Anyone would think this is an open-and-shut case with a conviction inevitable.
But here comes the rub: The judge knows about the unwritten rule in this country: if you are from a group such as the professions, a university student, rich, have a high profile or are a sportsperson you will be treated more leniently than the great unwashed masses.
This is called professional courtesy. What will the judge do?
Lawrence Woods, Katikati
School zone
Re Anger boils over (News, April 7). This was bound to happen as soon as Carmichael Rd was linked to Millers Rd but then the council approved the erection of another school directly opposite Bethlehem School.
What is going to happen when there is an increase in both pupils and traffic then? I should point out that there is no traffic signage bringing the limit down to 40km/h during peak hours.
Unfortunately living in a nanny state as we do some people are incapapable of using common sense and automatically slowing down in a school area.
Pamela Harris, Judea
Text views
* If we r talking bout banning any product that gives u a 'high' then alcohol shud b top of the list it causes more harm than all da rest! R. Latimer
* Closing goddards centre toilets- what do the retailers want in tga people or empty shops? dont waist your time in cbd go to a real mall.
* Re surcharges, will the shops that r open, ie, fashion, souvenir, garden centres be adding surcharge, same diff, be interesting scenario wouldnt it?
* Mall madness - it's not management that caused the closure of the goddard centre toilets, it's 1 very effective selfish complainer who lost us all a handy loo. Aim your anger at her.
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