Letter to the Editor, Thursday April 21, 2016

Punishable offence

I add my name to those who are astounded at the intent of the Far North District Council to put a fence along the Mangonui boardwalk. Along with others, I warn that stupidity will be punished at the polls.

It is stated such a fence is needed for safety. The boardwalk itself was a significant safety move. Prior to its installation cars parked on the edge of the unlit roadway were accessed within inches of a drop off the sea wall right in front of an establishment selling intoxicating liquors. Now cars are angle-parked metres from the edge.

The pedestrian walkway is well defined, and mitigates rather than creates risk.

If the FNDC is serious about safety they should act where there is genuine risk. This is the area beyond the boardwalk, where cars park parallel against a raised nib inches from the fall off the sea wall.

Passengers reaching to open car doors have to negotiate this trip threat to get into the cars. This outside restaurants that serve alcohol along with their meals.

Further, as there is no street lighting, this danger has to be negotiated in the dark.

Mr Carter and co, get your priorities right, don't waste time and money where the safety has already been improved. Deal with where it still exists in a very real manner.

Put your resource into extending the boardwalk and installing street lighting. Mangonui has virtually no street lighting. Our neighbour Kaeo has lights on every pole.

And seeing the success of the boardwalk, it is quite obvious the extension is sorely needed. When implemented you will have genuinely improved safety and enhanced a growing town.

We want people with vision and initiative on our council. Rules should exist to achieve an outcome, not to be blindly followed. There is a very true saying: 'Rules are made for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools.'

All this reminds me very much of the statement by a former Mayor Yvonne Sharp. When I challenged her about raw sewage pouring into the Kawakawa River her response was, "We are acting within the rules of our resource consent."

That statement very nearly gave me victory in the subsequent mayoral election.

DANNY SIMMS

Mangonui