Make or break time for Whangarei city

With the Town Basin turning 10 years old today and major road works edging towards completion, Whangarei business leaders say the city is at a crucial turning point.
The way land freed up by the Quay St re-alignment is used will make or break the city's future, they say. The council is coy over its plans, but agrees it will have no second chance to shape the focal point of the city.
"Whatever this council eventually decides will define our district, possibly for decades," mayor Pamela Peters said.
The Advocate revealed yesterday that the council had been offered $8 million for the 9000sq m chunk of land freed up by the roading changes. Unknown developers were keen to build a luxury hotel on the site.
However, the offer was rejected amid uncertainty over ownership of the land, which may have to be offered back to its original owners.
Mrs Peters said the public would have its say on the area's future, but that had to be balanced with the right of urban designers and architects to present their proposals in confidence.
Her preference was for a blend of green spaces, paved areas and buildings that would draw people into the central city.
Whangarei businessman Jeremy Busck - who put up $1000 in a competition for the best proposal for the land - said the Town Basin's next stage of development was "absolutely crucial" and would be a show-down between "visionaries and vultures".
The city should follow through with its 20/20 plan from the mid-1990s, which, apart from improved traffic flow and an attractive waterfront, called for landscaped parkland connecting the CBD and the Town Basin.
However, there is little argument over the success of the 10-year-old Town Basin redevelopment.
Former councillor Dave Culham - who put $24,000 of his own money into the project - said he still visited the Basin often.
"I think it's absolutely marvellous. That's not just because I had anything to do with it. It's a relaxing place."
However, he was disappointed the clock museum had been downsized and the doll and fish museums had gone.
Another former councillor, Wally Yovich, said ongoing success depended on bringing more entertainment and activities to the Basin, such as Christmas carols, light displays and live music.
In the early days the emphasis was always intended to be on community not commercial interests, he said.
As for the land freed up by roadworks, selling it for hotels or other commercial buildings would be "plain stupid", he said.
Local identity Reva Meredith, who has run Reva's restaurant since day one of the Town Basin, said the redevelopment was the "most beautiful spot in the city".
All it needed now was more events to draw people in, especially outside the tourist season.
Sue Stevens, owner of Nautical Trenz and two other businesses at the Basin, said Whangarei was the only city in New Zealand to have made the most of its waterfront location.
German-born Angie Deister, owner of Mokaba cafe, said Whangarei had changed "heaps" since she first arrived on a yacht 11 years ago, intending to stay just a few weeks. "The first time I saw the Town Basin I thought it looked a bit like Disneyland - but now it's the best part of Whangarei."
* Peeves and queues
Just as the Town Basin was about to reach its 10th birthday, roadworks once again turned the five-minute drive from Onerahi into a gruelling hour-long journey.
Traffic backed up as far as the bottom of Onerahi Hill around 9am yesterday as traffic slowed to get through a "dog leg" by the new Victoria Bridge.
Tony King, projects manager for contractor Fulton Hogan, said traffic was so slow because motorists became confused by changes to the roading layout.
Mr King said queues cleared by 10am. He reminded motorists to stick to the 30km/h speed limit and take care for pedestrians using the John St pedestrian crossing. "It's by luck no one has been hit," Mr Hogan said.
The entire project is scheduled to be complete within about three weeks.