Rotorua roads are Third World, writes one reader. Photo / NZME
Jim Adams wrote (Letters, July 2) about manhole covers and inspection covers not being raised to meet resealed Rotorua road surface heights.
It is not only council-managed roads where this is a problem: Old Taupo and Fairy Springs Rds (State Highway 5) are just as bad.
I have to navigate a slalom course to avoid the deep, sharp-edged holes. On Edmund Rd at least they are a consistent distance out from the kerb, but on NZTA's Old Taupo and Fairy Springs Rds they are all over the northbound inner lane.
And bad ridges are forming on Old Taupo Rd at the Malfroy junction. The only good road surfaces in Rotorua seem to be downtown in the tourist-frequented areas. The rest are Third World quality.
Malfroy Rd is deteriorating and its Utuhina bridge manholes take a pounding, especially noticed if one is a passenger in a lightly laden bone-shaker bus. That narrow bridge is a dangerous slalom course for drivers trying to avoid the covers.
Jo-Anne La Grouw wrote about the Kawaha Point speed bumps' height (Letters, June 30). I tried them (so many on a short length of road) and found that my perfectly standard 1977 car barely cleared them, even when taken at a crawling speed.
Gouges in the surface of some obviously indicate that vehicles have grounded on them.
And now Ford Rd, another cross-town arterial route, has them.
There is now no way to cross from Westbrook to Western Heights without repeated and unnecessary braking, gear changing and acceleration.
Finally, beware the very narrow and unnecessary slalom at the south end of Ranolf St: I have encountered many drivers crossing the centre line due to their lack of knowledge of their vehicle's width, or impatience.
Ronald Mayes
Rotorua
I see the cost of restoring the Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre has blown out from the budgeted $22.5 million to a staggering $33.7m, an almost-50 per cent increase.
Howie Morrison jnr describes the centre as an "iconic building'' with ''lots of history and memories".
The definition of "iconic" includes "widely known" and "distinctive". Indeed, it was "iconic", but in my view is no longer.
It looks like a totally new building, not a restoration project of this icon of Rotorua. The beautiful "grand piano" entrance that gave it its character is gone, replaced by something modern and not remotely iconic or invoking fond memories of the past.
Paddi Hodgkiss
Rotorua
What is happening to our money?
We recently received new eftpos cards, ones you do not have to use other than to swipe them over the box? How stupid is that? No pin, and apparently you do not even have to hold them against the machine, anywhere near will do.
There are no chequebooks, instead we have to go online or, if you are elderly, get a relative or someone else to do it for you.
Not very safe, is it? Our money, not the banks', is at risk here.
The internet is wide open to scams - it happens daily, even the US government is attacked. So, what chance do we elderly pensioners have?
Banks were originally set up to help and serve the public, keep their money safe, invest it sensibly, and pay dividends when they use your money to invest.
Not any more, now they create money out of thin air, they have taken away our cheques and now give us cards that anyone standing near us may use. Machines have also appeared in the banks and it is time consuming and inconvenient to talk to a teller.
It is bad enough that petrol stations and supermarkets make you pay for your purchases without any help from them - what's next? Will we have to start using bitcoins as real money will disappear altogether?
Jim Adams
Rotorua
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