When Broadway in Newmarket was given a makeover, the clock that used to be on the pedestrian crossing outside the Rialto Centre was removed. What has happened to the clock and why was it removed in the first place? I would be very interested to hear what has happened to it. Kate Hamilton, Auckland.
The chief executive officer of the Newmarket Business Association, Ashley Church, says: The clock was donated to Newmarket by former mayor William White and was still standing when the Newmarket Borough Council went out of office in 1989. It was removed by the Auckland City Council in about 1990 after the amalgamation of the boroughs. Since then it has disappeared without a trace.
Almost every harbour bridge in the world has cats eyes (some of them even lit at night) to mark the lanes. Surely the people in charge of the Auckland Harbour Bridge can do the same. At night-time and especially in rain cars wander all over the lanes. Sadly it may take a fatality for the Transport Agency to do the same.
Denis Orme, Birkdale.
The Transport Agency, which is responsible for the care and maintenance of the bridge, says cats eyes (known officially as raised reflectorised pavement markers) are used on the clip-ons to help show the lines between the lanes more clearly for drivers. It is not practical to use cats eyes on the central span of the bridge because of the movable lane barrier operating there and the heavy weight of its concrete segments, which rest directly on the bridge surface. The lane barrier was installed on the bridge 23 years ago - the first of its kind - as a safety measure that has eliminated head-on crashes. Solar-powered cats eyes were recently fitted to the barrier machine itself to help drivers see it moving.
