Measures planned to combat troublemakers

Tauranga City Council has authorised a crackdown on troublemakers who gather at the bus stop outside the city's downtown art gallery.

Yesterday, the council gave staff the go-ahead to trial some "interventions" to control the behaviour of young people who frighten gallery staff and visitors.

Mayor Stuart Crosby, whose office looks down on to the bus stop, said he has had to call the police after witnessing clashes.

The footpath was quite congested from 3.30pm to 5.30pm and the worst behaviour seemed to happen between 3.30pm and 4.30pm.

Mr Crosby believed the area could be made safer by a little bit of resourcing and collaboration.

"We must not turn a molehill into a mountain. Yes, there are issues, and they need to be addressed ... behaviour can be managed with some time and effort."

Councillor Terry Molloy said some people were quite drunk, and at around 6pm, it could be quite intimidating for a woman on her own. Councillor Bill Grainger said he had seen people looking for rubbish bins and he could not fathom why there was no bin in the area. The council authorised staff to manage the issue and report back on progress.

City services manager Ian McDonald said staff would work with police and other agencies to trial some interventions. He was not specific about what could happen, but said they would be practical. He said they would try to install a rubbish bin but there were issues with putting a bin against the building in case the contents were set alight. He also discussed the buses blocking the driveway up the side of the art gallery where staff parked their cars and said it may be dealt with by opening up another entrance from the Masonic carpark.