Parklets – the public speaks

The parklet at Park St. PHOTO/FILE

Your say on the debate over Masterton’s parklets

Positively and negatively – the community has weighed in on the controversial parklet debate in Masterton.

The idea was to create public spaces in town where people could relax, play, and make new friends.

But not everyone is pleased with the Masterton District Council initiative, especially the businesses affected in Park St where the latest parklet has blocked off the road to traffic and skateboarders and ball games are encouraged, Here’s what you had to say on the Times-Age Facebook page:

Sarah O’Brien

Good idea however stupid place!

Ray Fryer

It’s time this money-wasting council was voted out. No one is ever consulted on moves like this, they just make a decision and to hell with whoever is affected.

Jeanna Bradley

Bit rough that the surrounding businesses weren’t consulted or given a chance to have their issues heard.

Jess Scott

Love it! Hope these become permanent.

Ripeka HeiHei

Hate them. Wrongly placed, taking up carparks . . .  come on now council, what are you thinking?

Helen Back

There’s Queen Elizabeth just across the road! If kids are going to play on the road or parklet, or whatever you want to call it, does that mean we can now park our cars all over Queen Elizabeth park and call it a car park?

Nick Simon
Looks awesome and loads of people using it, however, just up the road is a wide-open space where the Daniell Building used to be. Wouldn’t it be better there?

Vikki Charlie

It doesn’t matter what you do or don’t do in Masterton [or anywhere], someone will whinge. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Let’s see the whingers and negative nancies do better. I could never get a carpark down Park St anyway like many others so let’s not make it about the carparks.

Valerie Williams

We had a look at this one [yesterday], saw one person there in the morning, plus a worker hand-hosing the plants – in full sun. A lot of water running from the planter boxes onto the street – what is the difference between watering the parklets and watering the garden beds by the roundabouts? In the parklet by Charlie’s Lane was one man on a bean bag reading. Less room on the footpath and less parking spaces.

Cath O’Driscoll

Next to library there is all that space next to Fab Lab – why not have it there? Kids are taught not to play on roads, yet here we are encouraging it.

Adele Pentony-Graham

Taking up good carparks too.

Tulletha Pollett-Scott

Wow, there certainly seems to be a fear and a ‘scarcity mindset’ from some business owners. What if the opposite happened? Their businesses would become known, seen and flourish as a result.

Ripeka HeiHei

While there’s still no flowers at the northern entrance of town that people been going on about, we’ll waste money on this. Fix the roads, mow the fire-hazardous long grass, spray the weeds, fix the potholes. This is not a priority for Masterton. The council didn’t even get the bike park thing safe enough before it moved on to the next dumb thing. These parklets will soon get wrecked like everything else. I think money could have been better spent elsewhere.