Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz

We used to think Tauranga was a big place when we got our first set of traffic lights.

That must have been in the sixties, when I was in shorts and roman sandals, Tauranga Primary was the biggest school in town and the quickest way to the Mount was on Faulkner's Ferries.

After the traffic lights, the first escalator was a monumental day for Tauranga folk, who no longer had to travel to Auckland to experience such advances in technology. (Was it Farmers or the Westpac Mall between Grey and Devonport? And did it go down or only up? Drop me a line if you know to help end the family debate.)

Mind you, it all paled in significance compared to the wondrous flying fox cashier system that whizzed around the lofty old airspace above Hartleys. That had to be seen to be believed and was almost worth putting up with an hour of dress material shopping with mother just to see the flying fox in action.

Anyway, I digress. Back to the traffic lights. There is now talk of a further four sets being poked in along Cameron Road – a main artery already well punctuated with controlled intersections. (Read more on page 3) The council is talking about adding lights at Third, Ninth, Spring and Chadwick.

That will make 13 sets in total and probably require motorists to take a packed lunch if they intend to traverse the length of Cameron. I'd have thought this road had enough controlled intersections, but hey, being just humble villagers, what would we know?

Clearly there are cleverer brains than us mere ratepayers making these decisions. Doesn't seem to make sense to replace a roundabout with lights though, does it?

What it does reflect, however, is the continual growing pains of a city expanding and squirming a little uncomfortably under the pressure of burgeoning population growth. A bit like those feet inside those roman sandals.

We see that every week at the Sun, having to constantly increase the print numbers to keep pace with the region's ever increasing number of letterboxes. The regional council tell us that 3000 more people settle in the Bay each year. Interesting, that our friends at the old daily paper don't have the same problem, in fact the Australian-owned daily's circulation has been steadily dropping for years, (see Audit Bureau of Circulation) despite the Bay's population explosion.

Makes the Sun look a much better marketing vehicle, don't you think? More than three times the coverage and rated as the region's best read newspaper (Nielsen surveys).

We don't bother to comment on what other publications do, until they start taking ‘potshots' at us; lately that's become a regular occurrence. I guess when their market share is dwindling, then lashing out at the successful locals is a natural reaction.

Rest assured the Sun is the proven best marketing media in the region, no matter how others may try to cloud the statistics with complicated combinations of tinpot circulations.

Simply, the Sun goes further, to more mailboxes, is better read, better respected and (most important) gets advertisers the best results for their dollar.

You readers keep telling us you're pretty chuffed, too!
But I digress again. Back to the traffic lights. The thought of 13 sets along the length of Cammers – the city's backbone – really does send a shiver down my spine.

It makes Route K suddenly look a bit more appealing and a buck fifty (from January) not a bad price to avoid the pending frustration overdose that will soon be inflicted upon us.

Also makes the foresight of Routes P, J and K all the more remarkable.
It has many detractors (although I suspect, some more vocal, distorting the true number) but it cannot be denied that whatever the cost, this road is a brilliant piece of future proofing for a fast growing region.

If it hadn't been built when it was, we'd still be sitting in strangulating traffic on poor old Cameron, complaining bitterly that ‘someone' should have built a bypass years ago.

Pretty much like the angst that Te Puke and Katikati are going through now.

For future generations, hopefully they will realise that at least some foresight was shown by our generations when they nabbed PJK corridors before they were snatched up by developers. That was a ballsy decision to keep these essential routes free, even if we, the forebears have to cough up the equivalent price of a litre of milk in the early days to use it.

Makes sense therefore that we leave a bit of the debt for them to take care of too.

After all, it would have been a lot more costly for them if the road hadn't been built.

Cogitate that during lunch, while you're waiting at red lights at Elizabeth, Second, Third, Ninth, 11th, 15th...

Parting thought
Why did the traffic light go red?
You would too, if you had to change in front of people.

Jed and Ned were driving down the road in Jed's car, when Jed ran a red light. Ned was a bit perplexed. Then Jed ran another. Ned asked why didn't he stop at red lights. Jed said it was something his father had taught him. Then they came up to a green light and Jed slowed and stopped. Ned asked why. Jed replied: 'Because Dad might be becoming the other way.”