Why is the Tauranga City Council so determined to make more parking spaces in the city? We need another beautiful resting spot more than we need another carpark.

I see that Devonport Road in the centre of town is to be a ‘pop-up carpark', albeit supposedly temporary. Is it because we are short of parking? Or is it because those who complain about the lack of parking are not prepared to look around and take a short walk into town after parking away from the main shopping area?

Take a walk in the sun after finding a parking space; we have the climate for it. If you are tired just have a rest in the middle of town in what could be The New ‘Pop-Up Family Play-Park'.

Lovely art work, on retained pillars and cross pieces, has already picked out this Devonport Road area as a ‘go to' quirky destination just to have a look.

So what's the vision for this spacious gem? It's to be made into a temporary carpark-awkward viewing platform! Nobody will stand around looking at the art while cars manoeuvre for spaces.

Surely it's a great opportunity to have a permanent space with flowerbeds, fragrant bushes, swings and slides for the kids and seating for those who simply want to enjoy the day and relax for a while; right in the middle of everything. It puts a stake in the ground for our priorities.

Because of this recurring council myopia, Wharf Street has the same predicament; vehicles still parking in spaces that should be for pedestrians and lovers of safe places. Deliveries should not mean vehicles parked in the street to unload goods while those stalwarts who sit outside for meals and drinks put up with exhaust fumes, engine noise and clattering and banging. So much for fine dining! Nor should pedestrians have to watch for traffic at any time, in an area of street cafes and restaurants.

Come on Council, no parking in that area of Wharf Street any more, and commission some large wharf sculptures to be mounted there to reflect our port history. Wooden boxes alone are not very atmospheric. Delivery trucks and vans can have a marked area along Willow Street in the same way as the buses do. The young men who do the deliveries can load trolleys there to bring into the café area so it's no big hardship for them.

The Council has got vision; the new initiatives along the waterfront are testimony to that, but every so often the shutters come down and then our vision and our views become totally obscured. The open road is for traffic, city centres are for people. That's the priority.

D Naughton, Tauranga