NGARUAWAHIA MUM'S DRIVEWAY CHALK DRAWING SLAPPED WITH 'UNLICENSED ROAD ART' COMPLAINT
The road in question is a driveway. The art in question is a rainbow.
A Ngaruawahia mother has been handed a printed complaint from a neighbour accusing her seven-year-old's hopscotch grid of constituting "unlicensed road art" on a residential driveway that is, by every reasonable measure, not a road.
The chalk in question — a rainbow, a hopscotch grid, and what the artist insists is a pukeko — appeared on the concrete outside a Great South Road property on Sunday afternoon. By Monday morning, a two-page letter had been slipped under the door citing "visual pollution" and "unauthorised surface markings".
Homeowner Aroha Whitiora, 34, told The Daily Yarn she'd read the letter twice to make sure it wasn't a piss-take. "It's chalk. It's on my driveway. My kid drew a pukeko. The next rain sorts it. What is this bloke on?"
The letter, unsigned but printed on what neighbours have identified as "Kevin from number 18's paper", also raised concerns about "precedent" and suggested the markings could "confuse motorists". The nearest motorist would have to be reversing up Aroha's driveway to encounter them.
A Hamilton City Council spokesperson, contacted for comment, said chalk on private property was "not a council matter, and frankly not really a matter at all". They added that the council received "a surprising volume" of driveway-related complaints from the Ngaruawahia area.
The pukeko, as of Tuesday morning, is still there. So is Kevin, watching from his lounge window with the curtain pulled back about four centimetres.
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Reader Letters
Sunny_Side
Bloody hilarious. Chill out, Kevin!
Garry (Halswell)
Good ol' Ngaruawahia! Proud of Aroha and her wee artist. The world could do with more rainbows and pukekos. Frankly, Kevin, get a bloody life! It amazes me how some people get their knickers in a twist over the most trivial of matters. Just get over yourself.
MumOf2_Waiuku
Reminds me of when Mrs. Jensen complained about my son's cricket balls hitting the kerb. Let kids play, I say!
Trev_Hornby
Kevin sounds rooted. Who cares about chalk?
couchgremlin
Chalk is temporary, Kevin. Get a grip!
ropeable_dave
Mate, chalk ain't 'visual pollution'. It's no more distracting than our cracked kerbs.
Garry (Halswell)
@MumOf2_Waiuku Ah yes, Mrs. Jensen, the cricket opponent. Wonder if she ever played a game!
tired_in_riccarton
The real issue is how many complaints council deals with daily. Shit like this wastes everyone's time!
sceptical_sue
Imagine complaining about chalk. Kevin's life must be exciting!