The case for the Canopies

Porirua shoppers, retailers and property owners got two pieces of good news in the December 16 issue of Kapi-Mana News.

Thank you Mr Burke for standing up for the Canopies. Those of us who have been around the CBD for a long time – in my case 44 years – can remember how bad it was before the Canopies.

Many days I’ve watched my customers make a mad dash from the post office to cross Serlby Pl for their morning tea, crossing the 15m in the pouring rain.

Those who think the Canopies have created a wind tunnel obviously were not around before they went up.

I often had to anchor my sandwich board to the seats outside the shop.

This all changed when the Canopies went up.

I no longer had to chase my sign from one end of Serlby Place to the other. The present material used was the best available at the time.

In recent years a clear plastic has been used to cover the stadium in Dunedin and others around the world.

With more options available, everyone should be happy when the present covers are replaced.

Reinstalling verandas is a piein-the-sky suggestion.

The substructure that held up the old verandas was removed, so to replace them would cost far more than to replace the Canopies’ fabric.

The second piece of good news was the changes to the Chamber of Commerce management.

For two years I have been trying to find out where the $150,000 a year that is collected by the council from CBD property owners and given to the chamber is being spent.

The money is collected for the purpose of marketing and promotion of the CBD.

I have even tried to gain this information through the Official Information Act, but because the council neglected to put a requirement in the contract for accountability from the chamber as to how the money is spent and