Traffic help

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 401, 27 August 1991, Page 4

Traffic help

• Last weekend, 17 August, I was that disgusted with the parking behaviour of the people using Goldfinch Street that, in a hot headed moment, I wrote to the Chief Traffic Officer in Wanganui complaining of the lack of M.o.T. personnel in the town over the ski season. Unfortunately, it seems I made a personal attack on Traffic Officer Ian Harrison. Ian and Bev, I sincerely apologise to you both - this was not the intention. I think it is high time that those of us who are whingeing behind the police and transport dept's back about the idiot driving behaviour in our town over these five or six weeks came out in the open and did something about it. The main causes of concern are the double arid triple parking everywhere, and the excessive speeds up and down Goldfinch and Miro Streets. I do not know where or who can start this off but I firmly believe that we, as a town, should be lobbying the Govt. for more M.o.T. personnel to be made available to be in the town of Ohakune over the weekends of the ski season and over the five week holiday period. There is no way that Ian can do this by himself and there is no way I would expect him to. It is most probably too late to attack this problem this year but before we kill off more of our citizens lct's make it our 1992 resolution. Alan Murdie Council Action • When the Ruapehu District Council was formed ratepayers were told it would benefit all the towns in the district. Well ratepayers in Rangataua are now of the

opinion that in the R.D.C. books we do not exist, except when it's time to pay rates. Despite repeated requests by ratepayers to have something done about the deplorable, dangerous, and unhygienic state of the drainage in the township, all we are told is "they are looking into the matter." The situation is so bad that the high water table is affecting roads which are of a minimum standard at the best of times. This is a recurring situation every time we have wet weather. The people of Rangataua are sick and tired of being ignored by the people whose very substantial

wages are paid by ratepayers' money. If the heads of the R.D.C. have got enough guts I would like to see them come to Rangataua in the wet, not fine weather, walk, not drive, around the township roads and see for thcmselves. We have had to pay recently for the sewage system, now it is about time the R.D.C. put some rate money back into the Rangataua area, the longcr these things are left the more costly and more difficult they will bccome. Do something positive for a changc. We are past the stage of asking. We want action not cxcuscs. P.S. Bishop