The Premium Debate: Subscribers give their views on road potholes

Delain Morrison with his broken wheel rim thanks to a pothole. Photo / Kelly Makiha

OPINION

Delain Morrison is angry at the state of the roads that saw his wheel rim buckle after it sank into a large pothole on State Highway 30 at Rotoiti. The large pothole is one of several that have popped up on the district's roads in recent weeks and new figures supplied to the Rotorua Daily Post show the amount of work being carried out to fix them has jumped. An increase in rain and the state of the roads are being blamed.

Read the full story here: Rotorua family's pothole drama: Authorities say pothole repairs have risen

Have your say by going to bayofplentytimes.co.nz or rotoruadailypost.co.nz and becoming a Premium subscriber.

Not good, lucky you didn't have a head-on. The Government has neglected the roads which are the backbone of New Zealand's economy while chasing a zero road toll. Road to Zero is not achievable, especially with the state of our roads being so poor. The nanny state approach is not working when their infrastructure is so neglected. The Government should reimburse you.
- Marin C

Try driving in Auckland, mate, you would not last five seconds. Potholes so big my car just about disappeared. But my rates are astronomical, what do they do with the money?
- Tina W

Know the roads are bad but low-profile tyres are not good for NZ roads until we fix them.
- Paul S

Hospital seeks rule change

Plans for a 'billion-dollar' new building at Tauranga Hospital have sparked "real and worrying" shade concerns for neighbours of the facility proposed to be up to 27m tall. Health authorities have sought approval for the build to address the hospital's seismic issues and help it cope with the fast-growing population it serves. However, people living next door to the site fear they will be "left in the darkness" due to excessive shadowing created by the seven or eight-storey building.

Read the full story here: Tauranga Hospital seeks rule change to allow for 27m high 'billion-dollar build'

Everyone hates change but in this case, it is essential so Tauranga can provide a quality hospital for the increasing number of people. Many people will be affected by light when the neighbour can now build three storeys with no issue. Let's get this done for Tauranga's majority.
- Mike B

Yet more negative effects of rapid and excessive population growth. Why can't those in charge see that excessive population growth is going to wreck this country? The damage is already being done. It's heartbreaking to see and cannot be undone.
- Robert H

In response to Robert H: Rapid population growth? I thought our main concern was the lack of immigrants and our own, homegrown, departing for greener pastures. We badly need to increase our population to hold our own in the world today.
- Alexander H

I feel this is taking not in my back yard-ism too far. Although NZ is very sparsely populated, the land is usually at a premium in locations where existing hospitals are. Thus it may not be reasonable to build more lower-height buildings in the present location. As an Aucklander, I am used to 27m buildings, but perhaps in Tauranga, they are not so.
- Alexander M

- Republished comments may be edited at the editor's discretion.

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