MAIN HIGHWAYS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 32, 8 February 1928, Page 9

MAIN HIGHWAYS.

PROBLEM A NATIONAL ONE.

SMALLER BOROUGHS'

POSITION.

REMIT TO MUNICIPAL

CONFERENCE.

Main highway matters were briefly 1 discussed at last night's meeting of the Mount Albert Borough Council. The' subject was brought up by a letter from the Green Island Borough Council in which it was requested that the Mount Albert Council should support a remit which had been forwarded to the annual confcrence of the Municipal Association of New Zealand.

It was stated that after careful consideration the Green Island Council had come to the conclusion that coping with present-day traffic was no longer a problem for individual local bodies, but was essentially a national one. This question applied more particularly to smaller boroughs, upon whom the reconstruction and maintenance had become a burden which was increasing year by year despite the assistance which some received in the shape of subsidies from the Highways Board.

With the passing of the Main Highways Act and the setting up of the board it was anticipated that the burden of reconstructing and maintaining main highways would be lifted from local authorities. The policy of the board, however, :iad been merely to subsidise reconstruction and maintenance work, and it was stated that that involved considerable expenditure if any permanent success was to be achieved. The letter went on to say that members of councils were reluctant to saddle their ratepayers with an expenditure which went towards maintaining national highways, therefore support for the following remit was requested:— "That the present law relating to the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of highways in the Dominion be amended so as to enable the Main Highways Board to take over and be wholly responsible for the main roads in the Dominion with a view to coping with present and future traffic requirements."

Members of the Mount Albert Council were unanimously in agreement with the proposal, and it was explained in answer to a question that road boards received much more assistance in the matter of road construction than borough councils, such as ftlount Albert, for instance. It was dedded-to gogport tliß^i«it-a4tLQSonfereii' > ab"