I took my wife to lunch at The Med cafe in Devonport Road recently and very nice it was too.

What struck me, however, was the endless row of empty shops all the way up and down Devonport Road.

Now I know retail is doing it tough these days, and the earthquake upgrading can't be helping, but it still came as a bit of a shock.

So many empty shops.

However, on further reflection, could this be a blessing in disguise? Never before has Tauranga had such a great opportunity to rethink the layout and functionality of the city centre.

Downtown is old, out of date and very cold in the winter with the wind whipping through from the south. Hardly a pleasant place to stop and shop.

Perhaps it's time we brought one of the city's main features into play – its harbour sights and water views.

It's not rocket science. It's what all the big towns are doing. Wellington, Auckland, both bringing the water back into view.

They'll pay a small fortune to live with a water view, it makes sense to have it as part of the city sights.

And while we're at it, how about a decent one way traffic system so it's easy to get around.

Let's use this ‘once in a lifetime opportunity' to create a stunning city centre for Tauranga into the 21st century.

Now's good!

G Martin, Tauranga