New Mount Mainstreet manager Ingrid Fleming reckons she has a great base to work and build on. But three challenges for the Mount do come to mind that she wants to work in future.

Extending the eligibility area for Mount Mainstreet membership, solving peak summer traffic woes and bringing retailers and event promoters together for the greater good are all on the cards.

As you can see, Ingrid has hit the ground running as the newly-appointed one-stop-shop and a one-woman band for all things promotion for more than 200 businesses and retailers listed with Mount Mainstreet.

Ingrid says currently Mount Mainstreet gains members from only the cobbled area along Mount Maunganui Rd via businesses and retailers paying membership in their commercial rates to Tauranga City Council.

But she wants to extend this. 'We know there are places like Sanctum Beauty, which are on Victoria Rd just two streets over from the main street but are not on the cobbles so aren't part of Mount Mainstreet,” says Ingrid. 'But they should be part of the family as well.”

'So I want to work with TCC to extend the membership area. Why should these guys miss out on the promotional services of this office because they're one street off or around the corner?”

Ingrid also wants to tackle transport issues facing the Mount's peak summer period. 'The roads at the Mount are so busy during summer so how do we get more people on bikes? And what can we do about creating park ‘n' ride options?”

She believes some heading to the Mount in summer see traffic and parking woes as a barrier and that it's something to work on.

And while the Mount doesn't clog so easily in winter even sunny weekends at this time of year sees traffic become slower. 'So let's make it easier for people from out of town to come to the Mount and enjoy it.”

Ingrid also believes there's room for more collaboration when it comes to events and offering eventgoers the whole Mount experience.

'Events are critical to the success for a town or city – and the Mount has a lot of them. Something is on every weekend,” says Ingrid. 'So I'd like to work closer with event promoters to identify and implement opportunities for both parties, so people who come here for events also know what's available in Mount Mainstreet.”

Ingrid replaces the late Peter Melgren, who died suddenly in March – and she's looks forward to carrying on his great work.

So why so passionate? Her connection to the Mount is strong. Her parents lived in Victoria Rd, parallel to Mount Mainstreet, for 34 years.

'Having lived in the Mount for the last six years I've had huge interest in what's been going on in Mount Mainstreet."

And her credentials? Ingrid comes from developing and growing a very successful event business in Taupo. With strategic planning, business development and marketing experience, she was contracted to ASB Baypark as business manager and manager for special events.

This morphed into her becoming part of a pivotal team which brought the world's first Jetsprints event to be held within a stadium. She then marketed Baypark Family Speedway with the highlight of the season being 7500 spectators attending the Demo Derby and FMX Show held in the stadium. So not a bad resume. But her keenness is even more impressive.

'I'm very much looking forward to the challenges ahead, creating new and exciting reasons for people to come to a world class destination and really looking forward to working with and for our vibrant Mount Mainstreet.”