NUMEROUS REMITS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 122, 5 March 1936, Page 7

NUMEROUS REMITS

THE MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE. CONTROL OF CYCLISTS. (Per Press Association.) , HASTINGS, March 4. Rapid progress was made to-day with the business before the delegates to the 1936 conference of. the. New Zealand Municipal Association, which opened at Napier to-day. No fewer than 72 remits were dealt with out of a total of 179. The conferenuce urged that the following practices of cyclists on roads or streets be prohibited:—(a) Biding with more than two cycles abreast; (b) double-banking; (c) carrying packages, etc., which, by reason of their size or weight, might interfere with the management of the cycle; and the following regulations lie enforced ; (a) the right-hand rule; (b) efficient brakes; (c) Trout and rear lights to be carried between, sunset and sunrise. For the proper and adequate control of cyclists, the Government is to be requested to incorporate in the traffic regulations a provision requiring the registration and numbering of cycles. Statutory authority is to be sought for councils to make by-laws to prevent unnecessary or excessive noises and to regulate the use of motor horns in streets.

The conference decided that the Municipal Association consider the multiplicity of local bodies at present in existence, and the advisability of recommending some scheme of amalgamation, and that it urge the Government to undertake the promised appointment of a commission or committee of the House to examine all aspects of local body government in the Dominion, with special reference to the problems ;of constitution, administration, taxation and finance. A pretest against the proposal cf the Government to exempt State aircraft from all landing accommodation charges at public aerodromes was made. ' . In the opinion of the conference the present system of exchange moneys remitted to countries outside the Dominion is a crushing burden on local body ratepayers and should at once be remedied, stated, another remit. The Government is again to he urged to deal with the question. Urgent representations are to be made to the Government to enact legislation prohibiting the keeping in New Zealand of Alsatian dogs, or, failing this, providing for strict control of these dogs and permitting local bodies to fix a higher registration fee than is now payable. The executive was requested to confer with health and other authorities and'to frame a set of model by-laws covering the conversion of existing buildings into flats and the general construction, conduct and regulation of (hits. Amendment of the Valuation of Land, Act to allow for more equitable valuation than is possible under the existing legislation is to be sought. The executive was instructed to consider the method of voting at local body elections, and to endeavour to devise some simpler form of voting.