Letters: Walkways need pro-active maintenance

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I have, today (October 24) reported to the council my fourth wooden walkway or bridge failure on the various cycle/walking tracks around Rotorua. Response times to fix or mitigate the problems range from one or two days (excellent) to a maximum of 10 days which is poor for safety issues.

The badly damaged walkway reported today (one plank collapsed and several in danger of collapse) got me thinking about what all the failures had in common.

Firstly, the council appears to have adopted a reactive approach to walk/cycleway maintenance rather than a proactive approach.

Secondly, if I am wrong about them not being proactive, then they have set the safety bar way too low as failures should not occur between inspections.

Allowing walkways to fail is setting the council up for a public relations disaster as it is only a matter of time before a tourist/local biker or walker is injured when the wooden decking collapses under them.

The council seems to have got its priorities hopelessly wrong when it seems to be defending and promoting a rarely used Green Corridor though the City Focus. Yet seems to be putting no effort into maintaining and improving bridges and boardwalks on the popular and well used existing walking paths and cycle ways around Rotorua.

RAY McCULLY
Rotorua

As a frequent rural traveller I perceive a new motoring danger: the persistent slow driver.

This type of driver goes slow around bends but accelerates on straights. They go up to 130km/h to stop others getting past on overtaking lanes but they slow down immediately after. What can be done?

G J PHILIP
Rotorua