In those days we obviously had the ability to build a structure that lasted. It still looks in good shape to me and could give boat access to the Viaduct Basin.
Vince West, Milford.
Bring back bins
I would like to express my disappointment at the recent removal of bins along the Te Atatū river path. Rubbish bins, fine, but let’s have our dog bins.
This is a well-used and lovely environment for people and dogs alike. We have a big online and offline community. People come from near and far to use this space, and to be able to bin your dog poo is desirable to having to carry it great distances with all your other dog and human paraphernalia.
The council keeps the area well-mowed and it’s a shame to see dog poo on the grass and pathways now, spoiling this space - not nice, but inevitable.
This is all to save a few dollars in the short term. What about the long term? Happy, healthy people and dogs using our lovely environments and saving money in the long term (healthcare and wellbeing). Come on, bring back our dog bins!
Angela Noone-Jones, Te Atatū South.
Doo the right thing
Anyone who has travelled to Japan will know what an immaculately clean country it is, urban and rural.
Tokyo, the biggest city in the world, has no rubbish bins in public spaces and also not a speck of rubbish to be seen. This seems to be the case all over the country.
How so? Japanese people are very respectful of their surroundings and citizens have a cultural aversion to littering. There is pride in public ownership of one’s surroundings and shame to be the one to spoil it. There is also a fine for such unsociable behaviour.
What do they do? Take their rubbish with them and dispose of it at home. Come on Auckland, get over your moaning, take responsibility and do the right thing with the doggy doo and wrappings.
Jocelyn Hall, Havelock North.
Sad story
It is indeed a tragedy that the owner of Rainbow Storytime, Sunita Torrance, has announced that she has lost everything as a result of recent protests forcing her to cancel her nationwide New Zealand tour.
It is sad when a business goes under due to pressure from others who disagree with what she is trying to promote. However, did she get advice from her accountant to do a cost-benefit analysis that would have incorporated sensitivity and what-if scenarios that might have shown her that what she was doing was anathema to many people and not just Destiny Church?
If she did then she got poor advice. Underlying the protests of the Destiny Church are many people who don’t want to see an ideology in the guise of entertainment promoted by drag queens in libraries and schools.
What if Destiny Church or the local parish priest or pastor wanted to promote their ideology in schools and libraries - would there have been an outcry as well? Public libraries and schools are not there to promote the agendas of self-interest groups.
Bernard Walker, Mt Maunganui.
Rail replacements
The frequent closing of parts of the Auckland metro system result in buses replacing trains.
On Saturday I was at Middlemore Hospital and intended to catch the train back to Panmure. But buses were replacing trains so I hopped on the RBE bus assuming it was replacing the train Eastern line service.
However, when it got to Sylvia Park it terminated! If the bus was replacing the train service it should have continued on to Panmure, Glen Innes, Meadowbank, Orakei, and Britomart.
When I realised I was stuck at Sylvia Park I asked the bus driver how I was to get to Panmure. He was no help. What an organisational failure.
If buses replace trains they must follow the actual route of the train to its destination. I did eventually get home, no thanks to local transport systems.
Greg Hawkins, Farm Cove.
