Letters: CBD public toilets disgust resident, tourist

A cycleway on Hinemoa St. Photo / File

I much prefer to write about positive things; but on this occasion, I'm displeased.

Last Thursday while in the CBD, I felt the urge to spend a penny. The toilets on Hinemoa St were the closest. The only good thing about them was they didn't stink.

Absolutely disgusting is how I would describe them. A visitor, also with the need to spend a penny, thought a tourist city like Rotorua would have had much nicer facilities.

I felt the need to apologise for our council's lack of consideration for public hygiene. We need a facility like the public toilets we used to have on Pukuatua St. Come on, councillors. Get your act together and do something about this facility.

I was also displeased when I had to drive around the block four times - through the debacle of concrete and cobblestones - before I could find a park. I can tell you, I was so tempted to park on the cycleway.

I have learnt how to operate the new parking meters, but imagine my annoyance when it wouldn't take my coins and I had to cross over Hinemoa St to find another meter. The revenue the council has lost from taking away those car parks, in Hinemoa St, could have paid for an upgraded toilet facility twice over. Not a good start to 2019!

Pauleen Wilkinson
Rotorua

Boycott the new parking meters

I have yet to speak to anyone who either likes or approves the new parking meters (or, for that matter, any aspect of parking in Rotorua).

The answer then is simple: Use "people power" to simply boycott the new meters, it will leave the council with little choice.

Especially with elections coming up!

Jim Adams
Rotorua

Job of police to stop menacing begging

Attending a meeting of the Operations and Monitoring Committee of the council recently was scary beyond belief. I naively thought it would be about solving problems and getting issues sorted. Hardly.

The "Beggars with Menaces" problem was reported to the committee. A Senior Sergeant noted that the menacing beggars were not homeless. They had local addresses. And the problems were caused by 15 to 20 people.

He also claimed that fewer issues were reported when the council provided live music and entertainment. Was he implying that there should be entertainment for the thuggery at ratepayers' expense?

Winding up, he stated that business owners ultimately needed to take responsibility for their own properties' safety. What? Is personal and property safety no longer guaranteed by the police force?

In my view, begging with menaces is purely a police matter that should not cost ratepayers anything. If the police know who is engaged in this illegal activity then only public reporting is needed to shine enough focus on their activities to get them to leave or take an involuntary "holiday" to learn that it will not be tolerated.

Phillip Todd
Rotorua

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