After the marvelous display from Lisa Carrington at the Olympic Games, and after talking to numerous friends here on the North Shore we have come to the combined agreement to change the name of Lake Pupuke to Lake Carrington, as that is where she trains and has sweated to achieve Olympic glory so many times. I think it would be fitting. What a marvellous example she is to our upcoming young sports people.
I believe that we should name our stadiums or our parks after the true heroes of our sporting nation. For example, at Eden Park we have the East Stand, North Stand, South Stand and West Stands – imagine if they were called the Sir Wilson Whineray Stand, the Waka Nathan Stand, the John Kirwan Stand, the Grant Fox Stand. How good would that be, and a fitting tribute to these great former players.
Down at the Warriors stadium, it could be the Stacey Jones Stadium or the Ronnie Gibbons Stadium. It would really connect the history of the parks from the past to modern times. Anyway, just a thought.
On another note, are you noticing the cast iron pot holes that are developing around the North Shore? What I mean is every time they do a road resealing, whether in hot mix or chip seal no-one lifts the manhole lids or the fire hydrant lids. At every resealing this adds another 10ml or so onto the level of the road, developing quite a pothole where the manhole lids have not been lifted. One learns to know where these lids are to avoid them. But I think it is developing into quite a problem. Next time you’re out driving, take note and you will see what I mean.
Late last month I noticed down at the Narrow Neck car park, where about 20 cars were parked on a drizzly Tuesday morning, obviously people were out walking as it was low tide. There was a car there with an Auckland Transport Officer, checking the warrants and registrations on these vehicles. I stopped to have a chat with this guy, and he told me in his less-than-perfect English that he was instructed to patrol the beach car parks, checking cars for warrants and registration and to issue tickets for anyone not displaying these. Another revenue-gathering exercise for Auckland Transport.
Also, last month I had to spend a bit of time up north where we were doing some work. I noticed on the drive up, the Brynderwyns are slipping again after all the tens of millions poured into that area. The roads heading north have myriad patches, potholes, half done work and are a disgrace. I firmly believe the state of the roads is the cause of many injuries and deaths in that area and throughout our country. It is all very well for the Government to say they are going to fix 64,000 potholes; that’s never going to happen, let’s be honest about that. We have to embark on a serious re-roading schedule throughout the country, but whether we can afford it as a nation, I just don’t know. As an example, it’s encouraging that the Government is talking about pushing through an improved four-lane road through to Whangarei but surely it would be sensible to immediately start bypassing the Brynderwyns as the patch-up repairs are simply not going to last. As I have said many times, it is imperative that we get a decent and safe road through to Northland. The Northland economy really needs decent and reliable access to get goods and services through. How shortsighted it was to stop the new Puhoi-Warkworth road north from extending through to Wellsford, I often think of that as I drive over the new motorway with its lovely smooth road and sculpted hills then out we pop onto the goat track again to head into Wellsford.
Another thing I have noticed is that with the multitude of pedestrian crossings around, hardly any pedestrians stop and look before they stride out onto the crossing. It used to be that pedestrians would approach a crossing, stop and look both ways and wait for cars to stop before walking out. Now, pedestrians and cyclists often walk, or cycle, straight out without pausing and expect motorists to stop for them. A great example of this is the crossing in Bayswater Avenue by the graveyard and sports fields. Cyclists and walkers either come up the hill from the graveyard or from the sports field and despite the metal poles placed to slow them down, they head straight on out. I have witnessed many near misses, especially at dusk, as there is not sufficient lighting, particularly on the graveyard side of the road.
And another grumble. What happened to stopping at a Stop sign at an intersection? When I learned to drive the importance of stopping at a Stop sign was drummed in; it was an instant fail on your driving test if you didn’t.
Another month down, I’m looking forward to better weather and soon we’ll be talking about Christmas and holidays again. Keep safe as you drive around and watch out for those pedestrians on the crossings.