GROWING PAINS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 27, 27 November 1945, Page 5

GROWING PAINS

PROBLEMS OF OHOPE

speeding vandalism bottles

rjie growth of the pernument

population at Ohope Beach and the obvious need for closer control during the holiday period was the subject ol' considerable discussion at the. meeting of tbe Whakatanc County Council last Tuesday.

i'he matter arose out of a letter

from the Ohope Ratepayers' Association which body complained that

there was an urgent need for a footpath between Miller's Store and the camping ground and further alleging that motorists were constantly using Pohutu'kawa Avenue as a speed track to the danger of pedestrians and a growing menace to

children.

Cr McCready was pungent in his criticism of the County attitude in the past with regard to Ohope. Time and time again, he said Ohope

had been discussed and nothing was ever done. Today people were forced to struggle along the side ol* the road with grass up to their necks;, ft was "a rotton state of affairs and

the Council should do something about it. Footpaths had been talked about for years and they constituted the only safety for pedestrians from the car menace. The. beach was nowgoing back to. normal times and the Council just had to recognise it.

Cr Butler pointed out that Ohope was now heavily populated with a permanent population. The dust nuisance was one of the. greatest problems and be favoured a footpath. The Engineer added that so much speeding bad been going on that he was tempted almost to keep the plainer- off the road to allow it to roughen.

The Chairman: That would be too drastic. I think we should notify both tralfic inspectors.

Cr McCready 'mentioned the 'beer parties' which he said were prevalent J'rom Christmas to Easter and

the number of broken bottles -which were constantly being -Hung along the foreshore. ' One lady resident had collected buckets full of broken glass and buried them out of fear for injuries to children. What were you to do with people whose stomachs controlled their minds, he ask-

ed. He mentioned also the defacement of the public conveniences at Ohope by larrikins and said that the five millions spent annually on education was absolutely wasted.

The chairman .said that one young culprit had been made to clean up his own defacement. The trouble was that youth delinquency was becoming more widespread.

Cr MeCrcady: It's our weakened attitude toward youth. We don't discipline them. We're too scared to hurt their hides. The only way to impress their minds is through l their hides! He opposed any further delay in taking measures to rectify the present inadequacies at Ohope.

The Council on Cr Hunter's motion decided to refer the matter of constructing a footpath to Cr McCready and the Engineer with power to act: further to erect notices warning motorists against speeding and to notify the inspectors, of the need for stricter control. Noticcs regarding the throwing of bottles on the beach will also be erected.