CALVERT RD CROSSING
On behalf of the Calvert Road rail crossing petition organisers we wish to advise the public of New Plymouth and further afield that our petition was submitted to the New Plymouth District Council on Tuesday, September 27 with a total of 1603 signatures. We thank you all for your support with special mention to Steve, Colin, Jenny and Charles for their tireless effort, Yvette Batten for her two fantastic articles and to all who helped to make this possible in such a short time frame. This shows that the community spirit is alive and well in our city and that when something is not right we will come together in an attempt to put it right. Again many thanks to you all and we look forward to seeing you all being able to access your crossing in the near future. David and Christine Castle New Plymouth
DISABILITY WORKSHOP
I had the good fortune to attend the workshop last week at the disability centre, Young St, with other council candidates. It proved to be an interesting and very steep learning curve. After a preparatory talk, I was fitted with a blindfold and arm and arm with my excellent guide dog, Tom Tom Waite, I followed Lance GirlingButcher and his daughter Victoria, and his trusty guide dog, down Young St and up to and through the Govett-Brewster and Len Lye Centre. The terrain, which without the blindfold will have been no trouble at all, I found to be uneven and quite scary. I have total respect for Lance and his ability to venture almost anywhere and the confidence he shows in the many public environments that he frequents. I would like the council to require all council officers, roading and footpath contractors to have to do this workshop before undertaking any remedial road works in the future.
Also I would ask that the blue/ gray paving stones be removed from Devon St and be replaced with a moderate to slightly coarse textured bitumen surface as this is well proven for walking on thereby eliminating the Russian roulette process of walking down Devon St on a wet day.
As it is definitely not age or push chair friendly.
Chris Gimblett
Council Candidate
INTERSECTIONS
Congratulations, Kath. I for one always enjoy your editorial and the ‘‘Ups & Downs’’ column. In particular I endorse your last week’s comment regarding the