This Petition to Whangarei District Council and Northland Regional Council aims to make Otangarei safe to live, work, play and learn together.

Otangarei is a community nestled in Whangarei which shares the same issues as every other community does.

The Petition is to ask the District and Regional Councils to improve the means of access within the community. Such as fixing the broken network of footpaths, streetlights, addressing the roaming dogs issues, parking, adding more bus shelters etc.

There are too many broken footpaths in the area. This is causing people with disabilities and elderly who live in this area to take unnecessary risks to get to where they want to go and back to their whare safely.

I’ve been calling on the Council for some years to get the footpaths around Whangarei fixed up so they can be used safely by a majority of people with disabilities.

What happened to Mr T is one that many Mobility Scooter users fear. With the broken and outdated footpaths, blocked footpaths (cars parking on the footpaths etc) mobility scooters are forced to use the road which isn’t safe at all either.

I met a Visually impaired wahine a few weeks ago (sorry I forgot your name) and had a kōrero with her about the footpaths. She said would sign a petition, hence this petition do something about the environmental access we all need. She must have someone with her all the time to go to the shops as her route through the park is marred with bitumen bumps making it a trip hazard.

The Park is barricaded off with bars making it impossible for a Mobility Scooter to get through. Anyone with a Mobility Scooter must go around the long way… if they can get pass the roaming dogs first.

The bad footpaths and roaming dogs are a real put off. The local Postie also has to put up with the bad footpaths to deliver the mail.

There’s a huge need for more sheltered bus stops.

The list goes on… hence this petition to the Council

This Petition will be delivered to Whangarei District Council Chambers on Rust Ave at 9am 21st December.