Seats have started to arrive in Tamahere Park, including some with the distinctive sculptural style of renowned local artist Marti Wong.

So far, in and around the playground on Wiremu Tamehana Dr and adjacent piazza, are five of Wong’s unique seats, three benches and two oversize wooden seats, reports a delighted Tamahere councillor Aksel Bech.

Also in construction are three water fountains, including one with a dog bowl, which are supported by Newstead Vets.

Speeding drivers ignoring 50km/hour speed signs have prompted a Birchwood Lane resident to plead for them to slow down.

“I am so fed up with cars speeding down our road despite the 50 speed limit sign,” said Elisabetta Premoli.

“I am concerned for the many children walking/biking to school as well as the rest of the community.”

A concerned local makes a plea for people walking on our roads to follow the road code’s recommendation to walk on the side facing oncoming vehicles.

“At least then evasive action can be taken if needed,” says a concerned Raeburne Bourke.

“I am amazed at the number of folk who walk with their backs to traffic and some people are well out into the carriage way.”

My regular walk around central Tamahere increasingly involves negotiating steaming piles of horse dung.

Over days if not weeks the big piles of poo lie like landmines, ready to trip the unwary walker, runner or cyclist.

Responsible dog owners carry poop scoops and plastic bags to carry away their pets’ droppings. Why not horse riders?

The NZ Transport Agency is to fund a pedestrian and cycle underpass of Airport Rd/SH21 – one of several safety black spots in Tamahere.

The action comes after unprecedented protests in Tamahere, including a packed public meeting, and a call to the agency by Associate Transport Minister for safer connectivity for the area.

Tamahere Community Committee chair Sue Robertson welcomed confirmation of the funding for the underpass but said it was just a start.

New Waikato district deputy mayor, Tamahere councillor Aksel Bech, aims to develop a council response to climate change “with priority and urgency”.

The new Waikato District Council was sworn in at a ceremony today following elections earlier this month.

Re-elected mayor, Allan Sanson, and thirteen councillors will represent the district across 10 wards for the next three years.

Waikato, one of the country’s fastest growing districts, is forecast to jump from its current 29,000 households and 77,000 people to around 41,000 households and 102,000 people by 2040.

The Waikato District Council is preparing for a long period of growth and change and has been working hard on major initiatives in the past year that will be crucial to creating liveable communities for the future, it says.

The annual meeting and elections for a new Tamahere Community Committee are on this Wednesday, October 23 at 7.30pm.

Nominations can be made from the floor on the night for the committee, which is the guardian and watchdog for the Tamahere community.

Committee members are community-minded residents who want to help shape the style and nature of their area and its services and facilities.

Allan Sanson is back for a fourth term as Waikato District mayor, polling more than six thousand votes ahead of his nearest rival.

In the Waikato constituency of the Waikato Regional Council, Fred Lichtwark is back for a second term and is joined by Pamela Storey.

Rob McGuire was returned in the Eureka Ward of the district council where Tamahere Ward councillor Aksel Bech was also returned (unopposed).

Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter has given her backing for safer footpaths and cycleways for Tamahere.

In Tamahere today, Genter said she had let the NZ Transport Agency know of her expectations for safe connectivity for Tamahere, which is bisected by the State Highway 1 Waikato Expressway.

A lack of safe walking and biking routes has become a hot button issue for Tamahere people who turned out in unprecedented numbers to a recent public meeting on the issue.