Letters to the editor: Action needed to address Amohau St road safety issue

The intersection of Amohau St and Central Mall Rotorua. Photo / File

Paul Hickey's article about red-light runners in this week's Weekender is interesting.

He mentions the stretch of Amohau St from Fenton to Ranolf Sts as being frustrating to drive on with lots of red lights being run for no reason at all.

He notes that the most dangerous one is the crossing from Tutanakai to the Rotorua Central Mall.

He does not mention that heavy traffic is in the traffic flow.

More than 1000 heavy vehicles traverse this bit of road daily yet the Rotorua Lakes Council and Waka Kotahi can't seem to see how dangerous this is. In my view, sooner or later some poor person will be killed.

It's a safety issue.

They should ban heavy vehicles and bypass them up to the Hemo Gorge and put some traffic calming devices in the road to keep speeds down.

The red-light runners in Rotorua take it as being acceptable behaviour.

The Ministry of Transport needs to step up and stomp it out while increasing their income as well.

They can't worry about Rotorua getting a reputation for being a place you don't run a red one.

Rod Petterson
Rotorua

Celebrate Christmas the Kiwi way

I think it is time we did away with fat Santas with white beards and dressed in red tracksuits, Halloween American celebrations and Guy Fawkes too - a tradition in the UK 500-600 years ago.

Let us in New Zealand celebrate our New Zealand events. The Treaty, the Māori Battalion - sent away as labourers and became the best fighting men UK or NZ ever saw. There are sportspeople, scientists, doctors and many other things too.

Nationally and locally, let's celebrate Christmas as Kiwis - not upside down with holly and snow but with a Christmas barbecue on a beach or by the lake.

We can make enjoyable events children will very quickly love and learn so much from them.

John Mayhew
Rotorua

How much longer will electric vehicle subsidies last?

I would like to know just how long electric cars are going to be subsidised by all other road users?

They pay no road tax - unlike petrol vehicles which pay through the exorbitant fuel tax, and diesel vehicles through the mileage tax.

This is totally unfair; electric vehicles still cause wear to the roads but pay nothing towards the maintenance of these roads.

Paul Barnard
Ohauiti