Letters: Rotorua should embrace change

Te Manawa in Rotorua's CBD. Photo / File

I agree with Corrie de Boer (Letters, October 8) that people should vote wisely, and think we should be thankful for the changes happening in the CBD.

The removal of City Focus has made the CBD more accessible.

I, for one, have spent more time in the renovated area having coffee on the grass or a bean bag and dropping into the Sunday markets most weeks. It's a more user-friendly place that removes barriers in the city.

Shared spaces like Te Manawa are common in urban development and are being used in towns and cities across New Zealand. Rotorua is not some outlier here doing crazy new things. It's embracing trends to make the city more liveable.

Maybe some of these people who oppose change would like to see the old Lightning sculpture returned to the centre of town?

Apparently, sculptures cost a lot to maintain.

That doesn't seem to be the case in places like Europe which has thousands of times more sculptures than Rotorua. They seem to age pretty well with little cost.

Instead of complaining "there are no seats for the elderly, no shelter from the sun or rain", and the town is run-down and "heartless" then I would suggest using one of the many excellent cafes in the CBD.

It helps the businesses prosper, brings life to the city and provides abundant shelter and shade.

Philip Macalister
Rotorua

Climate change protest

Having seen footage of the Wellington climate change protest on TV in which several hundred people participated, I have some simple questions.

How did they all get to the protest especially as some participants came from out of town? Walking? Cycling - in which case where did they leave their bikes? Public transport? Chances are that plenty of private, fossil-fuelled vehicles were involved.

Do these people also regularly replace their electronic devices, each time costing the environment?

Do they wear natural product clothing or synthetic, chemically manufactured clothing? I saw plenty of the latter in the film footage.

Do they drink fizzy drinks and juice from plastic bottles or cans? Do they buy bottled water? Is their food made from scratch, no convenient packages and cans? The list could go on.

Yes, climate change is a real and serious problem but these protesters should practise what they preach, start small by managing their own personal carbon footprints, provide viable solutions and publicise these instead, and teach others.

Let's see positive footage of what can be done and is being done rather than the negative images protests suggest.

Paddi Hodgkiss
Rotorua