‘Squeezing the orange’ at city lights

REGARDING your frontpage piece about the judge who slammed the Dunedin City Council for poor traffic light design (ODT, 12.1.17): I must say the judge is not only right, but the case highlights an issue that has long been unreported.

The fact is the traffic in the central business district is so busy that right-turning traffic in George St often has to ‘‘squeeze the orange’’ to get through. And with Dunedin drivers being as they are, it’s a marvel there haven’t been more collisions. The

DCC needs to step up and install more rightturnonly green arrows.

It shouldn’t be difficult or timeconsuming, and it would improve traffic in town immensely.

Michael Schenk Dunedin

PC madness

BRIAN Andrews’ letter (‘‘PC world’’, ODT, 29.12.16) reminds me of what PC madness has now done to grumpy people who complain about the political correctness all the time.

Back in my day (is that ’90s, ’00s, now?) letters to the editor would be far more explicit in their prejudices. I’m sure the ‘‘good old days’’ the ‘‘antiPC brigade’’ used to look back upon all the time was less accepting and more brutal for children, than the times looked upon now.

These days people are less inclined to ‘‘say it as it is’’ because more people think racism, bigotry and child abuse is bad, and will not accept it. Many people also think it is good Maori grievances are finally being addressed, although I do note politicians overseas are successfully creating nostalgic myths of how things apparently were. I also remember when I was growing up people complaining that ‘‘bullrush’’ and tree climbing were being banned at schools, while me and my friends used to do this all this time. R. J. Stephen Wellington

Tourists’ relief

THE Chinese Government has just pledged to build or renovate another 100,000 toilets to cater for increasing numbers of tourists. Closer to home the DCC has only managed to build one at Baldwin St. Alex Aitken Woodhaugh