There's a classic riddle which goes, "The more you remove from me, the bigger I get. What am I?" You'll probably know that the answer is: a hole. But for the Rotorua Lakes Council, the answer could just as easily be: controversy.
Back in 2015 the source of the controversy was a cycleway which required a handful of car parks to be removed for its construction, and this week it's the removal of three car parks in favour of a "parklet".
In both situations, businesses who benefited from car parks mere steps from their front door appear to not have been adequately consulted on the changes and are rightly seething at the unannounced removal of the car parks.
Both the cycleway and the parklet are brilliant ideas, both aim to get more people into our streets by creating a fun, people focused vibe in the CBD. In my view, a CBD where people are out walking, interacting with each other, and checking out shop windows as they stroll or cycle to their destination can only be a good thing. Moving around in metal boxes removes opportunities for the same interactions and impulsive purchases.
The visionary ideas led and implemented by the RLC are admirable, the way in which Rotorua strives to leave the status quo behind can only be good for our city, but if the RLC continues to take bold steps forward without consulting and attempting to bring people and business along with them, they risk leaving the same people and business behind too.
