New life is being breathed into the Rotorua CBD.
Given this is time of year we're most likely to read about tragedy in the form of road accidents and drownings, it's nice to be able to turn the focus to news that's positive for our city.
Yesterday we reported on signs the revitalisation of Rotorua's city centre is working,
with an increase in foot traffic recorded.
It's early days but more feet on the street, combined with a big increase in foot traffic at the Central Mall and positive feedback from businesses and shoppers is plenty of reason for cautious optimism at least.
To get to this point has been a real team effort - particularly the sustained focus from the Inner City Focus Group, local businesses and the Rotorua Lakes Council - and again, even though it's early days a pat on the collective back is warranted.
As we've reported recently, there's a lot yet to come in the central city, including the proposed Green Corridor shared cycleway and the relocation of the main bus stop and bus routes among other initiatives.
