TOWN PLANNING.

PROBLEMS OF THE SQUARE. DIVERSION OF TRAFFIC SUGGESTED. To THE EDITOR IT THE TRESS. I Sir. - 'Consideration of the proh'u tn< ~[ Cathedral square naturally leads one'.- thoughts to the wider question j nowadays embraced m the term, town j pbnninp. In Christehureh the aggre- ! nation of traffic in Colombo street, betvecti . Hereford street and Armagh -treet. i- a difficulty who-h n:u-t laconic increasingly pivs-ing a- the City emu-, and upon this the contention- j quo.-ti>>:i of tram stops has a direct bearing. At the conference to lie held j ~ii Wednesday next, the di-ctis-io:i i mi;-t be confined t'l the immediate! problems of the Square, but certain

idea- have come to me, which, though outside the order of reference, hare a I In tiring upon the question. and I think may be helpful if ventilated be- j forehand. ! The diver-ion of traffic from the above sections of Coloinlx) btreet is a .-übjoct on which, with your kind permission, T wish to make a few remarks. It 's to Manchester street on the east ami Oxford terrace-Durham street, on the west, that we must look for the relief of Colombo street, and 1 have asked myself what can be done to entice wheel traffic away from Colombo street in these directions. A

short cut has an irresistible appeal, and it is very hard for a motorist, hound from High street to Papanui, to reject the shortest route, via the bottleneck at the Bank of New Zealand. If lie turns westwards, along Hereford street, he must overrun his objective by crossing Hereford street bridge, or take Oxford terrace and face the extremely awkward turn over Gloucester street bridge, or turn still further back to go via Armagh or Victoria street bridges. The remedy I suggest for this is a new light traffic bridge at a natural angle, connecting Durham street with Oxford terrace. The new passage would cross the river reserve at its narrowest and northernmost cud. If this were done I am satisfied that a large proportion of a Papanui .-outh-bound traffic would turn down

Durham street, and vice versa. Oxford terrace-Durham street would become a main artery. My second and major proposal is that a new street be made from the eiTiier of Manchester strppt and Gloucester street, to run diagonally to a point in Armagh street, say three chains cast of Colombo street, about opposite Armstrong's new building. The new strest would have precisely the same attractive power as High street, and might be named Little High street. The City could pay full value for the land acquired, and disturbance, and possibly make a profit to hoot, as the shopping frontages created would become extremely valuable. The traffic advantages are obvious, and the closing of Colombo street in front of the Cathedral would-become a practical possibility.—Yours, etc., GEORGE GOULD. November 24th, 1929.