Re: Waikareao walkway. I'm beginning to think this walkway should be renamed Dog Doodoo Alley. I've walked this potentially excellent walkway several times a week for the last few years and am saddened by the increasing amount of dog poo on it or near it done by unsupervised dogs. Late last year a local primary school did a lovely job of cleaning up the Daisy Hardwick section, dog poo and all. However, it was not too long, a few months, and dog poo, discarded paper coffee cups, discarded tissues and for goodness sakes, discarded plastic bags containing dog poo, were again littering the walkway. Tauranga City Council has installed a dispenser of plastic bags for dog owners along with a sign stating some simple rules; have your dog on a lead, or alongside you, scoop the poop, failure to comply can result in a $300 fine. I'm bemused as to how the fine will be imposed as I've never seen a council employee on the walk tasked with this role. Plenty of groundsmen around who do good work maintaining the walkway but I don't think they are able to impose fines. Many people are in control of their dogs, but a good number, particularly cyclists with large dogs, would not have a clue if their dog had defecated as they are not even within earshot of their dogs let alone close enough to witness the pooing. As well as anonymous pooing, small children are at risk. In the last months I've seen one small boy knocked off his bike by a labrador puppy running madly along with a group of cyclists whose only comments when the boy was knocked over was to say it was not their dog as they roared on. Not every child is naturally a dog lover and dogs bounding up to them uninvited reduces some littlies to tears. Come on dog owners, control your dogs and pick up their droppings, they are not pretty! An increasing number of tourists use this walkway, having it littered with dog poo is certainly not a good look.

M Parker, Otumoetai.