Welcome sight

Your headline ‘‘Mayors Urge Climate Change Action’’ ( Nelson Mail, July 24) is a sight for sore eyes.

Globally it’s recognised that urban responses will be the make or break of addressing climate change, and it’s great to see Nelson’s mayor and many others stand to be counted on this seminal issue.

Just like GLOBE-NZ, the crossparty group of MPs with a similar quest, this collaboration of mayors also reaffirms that climate change affects us all, and transcends traditional political divisions.

The mayors have taken an important step along an important road.

They deserve us citizens to support them in this, not just now, but into the future as problems become more difficult, and tougher decisions must be made.

Well done, Mayor Reese. Kia kaha. We’re with you on this.

Almost always when someone tells you, ‘‘It’s simple’’ they want your money or your soul.

No road on its own will permanently solve the traffic problems of a growing and changing city. Of course not.

But doing nothing produces a shambles, as does too little too late. Auckland’s problem for 60 years.

A modern city needs a multipronged and continuing approach to ease movement.

Had the Southern Link been built 40 years ago when it was planned, there would have been time and money to also develop cycle, foot, tram, bus, or whatever.

I can give plenty of examples from Europe and the USA where good roads coupled with other facilities have enabled pleasant and economic travel. Correspondents should stop these meaningless claims such as: ‘‘Nowhere has a new road solved traffic problems.’’

The Stoke bypass has problems because of bad planning and penny-pinching.

Two lanes merging to one, poor roundabouts, sudden changes to urban 50kmh zones. Of course there are tailbacks. Tscha.

Should small tradesmen carry ladders and tools on bikes?