Alastair Annandale, Ocean Shores
Andrew Hall mentioned parking at the beach in New Brigton in his letter (May 8).
Having parked there ‘nose in’ for more than a decade, the Council’s ‘parallel parking’ has reduced the availability by probably two-thirds. It is an unpaved, unmaintained area, which locals have utilised being aware and careful of gateways and rubbish bins.
The Council must have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars rebuilding the observation platform, supplying running water at last, and we eagerly await the annual ‘Canute fortnight’, where heavy machinery attempts to rebuild the sand dune.
In the meantime, despite my limited daily time on the beach, I have met three local people with Parkinson’s disease and one with motor neurone disease who try to exercise there every morning. There is no provision for invalid parking for these people and other visitors who come to view the ocean or walk the beach.
Perhaps, after the potholes have been filled, it might be possible to pave a section, at least for invalid parking? (Dream on!)
