The Strand and its problems, this is supposed to be a tourist attraction 'yeah, right”, Just stand in the carpark and look at the 1930s buildings. These were never designed for restaurants and bars but council approved, they are to small. You can't make a silk purse out of pig's ear, and what you have is a pig's ear. You won't improve anything until new buildings designed for the purpose are built. Bars on the ground floor with a separate entrance to restaurants on the first floor food court style dinning [Darling Harbour] with large terraces for open air dinning, Restaurants to close say 10-30 keeping all dinning and drinking inside the building and off the street.
Let's sort out our prime land on the strand for the people not the cars, similar to Whangarei Harbour Basin. They have had theirs for about 30 years? Don't say the rail is a problem as they have a main road directly behind their buildings. Let private enterprise be a part of the development, as for the fountain is this all we can offer what a waste of money.
Doug Noffke, Avenues.