Emmerson’s View
considered by elected members as part of long-term plan decisionmaking.
Consultation information proposed spending.
A new playground will be built adjacent to the current one. Carparking is not being removed but apart from some disability and drop-off parks, will be relocated and potentially increased.
Existing trees are incorporated in the design plans and Memorial Drive is being retained, with parking to be added there.
People will be able to walk freely along the water’s edge and the wider lakefront areas as well as along the proposed 5-metre wide boardwalk to be constructed over the water. included
Safety, environmental and operational matters, including lake level fluctuations and the need to allow for lake weed removal, are among considerations the expert designers and engineers working on the detailed design are taking into account.
It is important to note that what has been shared to date is the concept, not detailed, design. The detailed design is not yet complete. However, there is a lot of concept detail publicly available on the council website www.rotorualakescouncil.nz (go to “key projects” at the top of the home page, then to the lakefront development project page). Craig Tiriana Acting Chief Executive Rotorua Lakes CounciI In Thursday’s edition of the Rotorua Daily Post, a correspondent wrote in suggesting the proposed Lakefront upgrade should be put to a binding referendum after the “hoo-ha” that had arisen about it.
The correspondent evidently missed the council’s long-term plan document which arrived in their mailbox in March this year; this document gave every Rotorua resident the ability to have their say on the Lakefront upgrade.
For those who had their say on the Lakefront upgrade, 53 per cent voted in favour, with 47 per cent against.
So there we have it, the “hooha” can settle.
Not so fast. This, unfortunately, points to the larger issue at hand, the correspondent may be representative of a large portion of our city who are keen to have their views heard on council matters, but don’t know how, or don’t find the elected members are accessible enough to make their views known kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face)
Progress is a good thing, Rotorua needs to move with the times to ensure that we remain a place that people want to live, visit and invest in.
However, if we don’t actively listen and act on our residents’ concerns, we risk splitting our city leading to elections which promote candidates who actively seek to curtail progress, instead of those who will bring everyone forward together. (Abridged) Ryan Gray Rotorua