Think again - Letters, 2 December

The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Here you can read the letters we have published in your newspaper today

More traffic lights not the answer

What is it with all these traffic lights?

Four more sets for Cameron Rd which is already slow to travel down. This will make it even more unattractive to use. Why change the roundabout with 9th Ave into lights? That is the fastest crossing on Cameron Rd. It will now be slower for just about every other one.

The council should think about turning off the lights at night to allow traffic to move freely (Europe does). I wonder if the council looks at the rest of the world to see how they solve traffic issues.

It seems to me we have small periods of peak traffic and very large periods of low traffic. Permanent lights are not the answer in these conditions.

Surely the first choice should always be roundabouts, unless there is a strange flow of traffic that makes them ineffectual.

Traffic lights seem to slow everything down except for about 20 minutes at peak times. There are many more sophisticated solutions other than traffic lights which would enable better flow of traffic during both peak and off-peak periods.

Please council, think again. The amount of lights in this city is ridiculous and slows traffic significantly in off-peak periods.

Rena response

I have been following the pollution response and salvage of the container ship Rena as I do have a past association with the area.

It is the comments by the "armchair experts" - of which the Bay of Plenty has more than its fair share - which I have been following and there have been some ill-considered comments.

As far as the pollution and salvage response is concerned, New Zealand does not have the resources of a large industrial nation. With what resources they possess they have provided an efficient and timely response. The oil concerned is one of the worse types to deal with. Assistance through various memorandum of understanding with overseas entities was forthcoming quickly, the salvors were appointed without delay and they are doing a good job, taking into account all the circumstances, including the weather.

People should stop criticising the response, the organisations and people involved, just take a little time to look at the problem and be thankful that there were plans in place to deal with a disaster such as the Rena grounding.

Captain John Dickinson FNI, Ex-Harbourmaster/Maritime Manager, Bay of Plenty, Lambeth, London

Library revamp

Regarding the reported proposed additional $600,000 revamp of Greerton library (news, Nov 30): Rather than blasting the extent of the upgrade, as being inadequate, the community of Greerton should be extremely grateful that they have a library at all as areas such as Welcome Bay along with Bethlehem/Otumoetai and Matua have nothing.

While the capital expenditure is one issue it is the ongoing operating and expenditure cost (opex) that will affect ratepayers, every year, that is the main issue of concern as a 50 per cent increase in the size of the library will require additional books along with potentially more staff further adding to the cost of providing this valuable service.

I look forward to the council considering providing a similar service to other Tauranga suburbs that currently do not have the privilege of a library but then some of us are realists and understand that the ratepayers of Tauranga do not have bottomless pockets.

I suspect that public submissions, in March 2012, regarding this issue along with the $4.9 million upgrade of the waterfront and more boardwalks will be interesting as ratepayers cannot afford more large rate rises even if the mayor seems to believe that we can bite the bullet.

Mike Baker, Bethlehem

Maori youth arise

It is interesting to see immigrants' faces in public places, as they take a place in our arenas of influence, professional, and public.

I saw a young Maori lawyer attending the Pike River inquiry and said a private "yeah! right on, lad".

But, wait? Why are there not more of you to be seen serving your country in executive capacities? We need you like land needs water, you have a place in our society by virtue of the fact that you are our first settlers, but it is up to you to claim it.

May your many Members of Parliament realise this fact and pursue your interests, ignoring tribal differences.

New Zealand needs guidance and direction in this global economy, and Maori youth can be a big factor if its leaders chose to consider them.

Forget kapa haka and Maori language, and concentrate on basic education for the common good; give our youth something to aspire to, not fill them with memories of ancient grudges and lost chances.

Use government channels to inspire our Maori youth beyond Winz and gang affiliations. They have much to contribute, given half a chance.

B Guernier, Hairini