Nude sunbathing is acceptable now apparently, according to Dawn Picken's article (Opinion, November 22), where she apologised for being a prude after her friends objected to her earlier views expressing it being unnecessarily offensive. Of course it is.

If it's okay on the beach then why can't one walk around wherever - around the streets, in the park - why not? After all "the body's beautiful" according to Dawn Picken and friends. Yeah, right.

And - get the beggars off the street and the hopeless out of business doorways - where is the cop on the beat out there moving them on like they used to in the old days.

You couldn't "hang around" without lawful excuse - it was being "idle and disorderly".

John Wratt


I would like to pass comment on the continual misuse, by your letter writers, of the term "gridlock" when referring to Tauranga's slow-moving traffic.


I don't know of anywhere in Tauranga geographically capable of sustaining a gridlock.

Gridlock refers to a situation in really large cities where the downtown roads are laid out in a rectangular grid pattern and unsynchronised traffic lights combined with impatient drivers creates a complete blockage of an intersection.

They can't go forward and they can't go back, meaning that traffic coming through the intersection from side streets can't proceed either.

The problem quickly expands to other nearby intersections until a large area of the city has totally stalled traffic, which takes a coordinated effort, by traffic authorities, for maybe an hour or so to clear.

All we have in Tauranga is slow-moving traffic.

Colin Kepple
Tauranga South

Easing congestion

Our councillors say that traffic congestion is a growing problem around the city (Local News, Saturday, November 24).

The story illustrates the fact that the inner city is built on a narrow peninsula, only 2km wide in places, with two roads - Cameron and Fraser/Devonport - along which all traffic moves into the city.

To ease congestion and offer an alternative way to travel into the city, a shared cycleway/walkway running along the shoreline from the Turret Rd bridge (Hairini Bridge) to the city would seem an obvious solution. I can think of few coastal cities around the country that don't have such a facility.

Good on the mayor for seeking Government assistance to solve our congestion problem.

The cycle and walkway is an efficient and economic way of moving commuters from cars and congested streets for present and future generations. It would also allow everyone to enjoy the harbourside, which is our city's greatest asset.

Building more or wider roads encourages car use, increases congestion and makes cities less liveable for people.

Thank you to the council for lowering the speed limit to 30km/h in the inner city, this has made it easier for pedestrians to get around safely. (Abridged)

Brian Byrne

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