EQUAL SHARES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 288, 5 December 1929, Page 8

EQUAL SHARES.

USERS AND THE STATE. HARBOUR BRIDGE FINANCE. r ; TOLL SYSTEM OPPOSED. : STAND BY MOTORISTS. Users of the proposed harbour bridge and the Main Highways Board should share almost equally in the costs was the opinion of Mr. A. Harris, M.P. for Waitcmata, in outlining a scheme of finance before the Commission of Inquiry this morning. A total of ..£850,000, he said, should be found in the proportions of £564,333 by the Highways Board and '£285,667 by the users, but the users should find the whole of the sinking fund. The bridge should be constructed by the Government as a national undertaking, said Mr. A. Harris. A work of ' such magnitude, lie considered, could not be carried out by a local body or a corn- . bination of local bodies. With the exception of £235,000, the whole of the revemie 'of the Main Highways Board ' was contributed by the motorists, and he suggested the cost of the bridge should . be allocated between the revenue of the board and tolls paid by the users. He outlined proposals under which the board would contribute £564,333, or, by an amendment in the law, pay interest on a loan of that amount. The interest at five per cent would be £28,216. Users of the bridge should pay interest on the balance of cost necessary to make up £850,000, and also the sinking fund at one per cent on the total cost, thus liquidating the loan in 36 J years. "The Highways Board should contribute three-fifths and the users two-fifths 'of the annual maintenance costs," said Mr. Harris. Total annual charges of £56,608 would thus be met in the proportions of £28,216 to be paid by the Highways Board, and £28,392 to be met by the users. A toll of 1/ a vehicle for a single journey over the bridge would produce £14,196 a year, on the basis of 7SO vehicles a day making a double journey, he contended., That volume of traffic was at present being carried by the Ferry, Company's vehicular fleet. A toll of Id each for passengers in private cars was also suggested by the witness. The revenue, from tolls .would be considerably increased by the growth of traffic, which might be expected to double itself the first year. The loan of £850,000 should be raised, Mr. Harris submitted, by the Government.

To Mr. Meredith: The four North Shore boroughs should not be asked to bear the whole cost of a bridge. It would be unreasonable to expect that. He considered an expenditure up to £1,500,000 -would be justified to provide a trans-harbour bridge. Should be Built by State. "The construction of the bridge should be undertaken by the State out of the Public Works funds," said Mr. G. W. Hutchison, secretary of the Auckland Automobile Association. \ Hβ added that legislation would be necessary to enable the State to collect betterment from land owners who would benefit by the bridge, on the principle set out in the Town Planning Act. The Government should also be entitled to obtain an appropriate contribution from users, but a'toll would be opposed by the Auckland "Automobile Association; ■which considered that the appropriate method of collecting motorists' contributions was through the Main Highways Board. The principle had been affirmed that, motorists should pay only for the improvement of. the'highways to make them, suitable, for motor traffic and they should, not be' required to pay for the bridge, but only for their share over and above the expenditure which should be undertaken by the State in order to give main highway access. Toll gates, had been abolished in Taranaki on March 31, 1925, continued Mr. Hutchison, and the toll system was regarded as an antiquated method of collecting revenue. Construction by the State was the only means by which adequate security for loan moneys for construction purposes could be. given.

Resolutions had been passed by the Automobile Association at its past two annual meetings unanimously supporting the project to bridge the harbour, Mr. Hutchison said. Many motorists refrained' from crossing the harbour owing to prejudice against vehicular ferries. Members of the association had expressed fear of the danger of care going over the side of the wharf,, owing to the low coping. The return fare of 3/ was a decided deterrent against motorists crossing the harbour. The fare was 8d a car each way in Sydney. Traffic to the trans-marine suburbs would tend to increase very considerably when allweather roads were formed. . Benefit to Ferries. "The Devonport Ferry Co. should be the most ardent advocate for the bridge because increased population will increase its revenue on passenger ferries, while only the Northcote and Birkenhead vehicular services will be adversely affected," said Mr. Hutchison. He considered it essential that, the main North highway should be connected with the Southern arterial highway system. It was not right that a main highway should be brought to the water's edge and travellers left to a proprietary service to link up with the highway across the water. There was no legal redress that motorists would have if the fares were increased by the Ferry Company to 5/ or 10/. Electricity Supply. "In spite of the good service given by the Ferry Company the retarded development of the Waitemata County is in a large measure due to the objection of many .people to crossing the harbour in a boat, and to the fact that they ■cannot obtain an uninterrupted transport service," said Mr. J. W. Hayden, chairman of the Waitemata Electric Power Board. Mr. Hayden considered the residential population of the North Shore districts would be largely augmented by the erection of the bridge. His boaril was most.anxious to assist the development of the ridings in the eastern part of the Waitemata County by supplying electrical energy to the rural population but unless greater settlement ensued it must,be many years before a large portion of the district could be served. The total area served by the board was 627 square miles, and the population 39,205 Ihe number of consumers supplied bv the board was 7150, of whom 4800 were across the harbour. The , provision of a bridge would increase efficiency in the administration of the board's affairs 'and the mobility of transport would enable more work to be done by the existing staff.

New Route Proposed. Town-planning developments in the future demanded a trans-harbour link, said Mr. E. le Pettit, town planner. He presented a plan showing three possible routes, with terminals at Shoal Bay and Beaumont Street in the first, Northcote Point and Point Erin in the second, and Nortbccte Point and Beaumont Street in the third. Disadvantages of the Shoal Bay scheme were that it gave no immediate connection with tihe northern main highway, the possibility of the obstruction to shipping, and the extensive causeways necessary. The Point Erin route was not in accordance with townplanning principles, because it was not in direct communication with the heart of the city and excessive grades would have to be encountered by traffic. Northcote Point to Beaumont Street offered a natural solution of the problem, Mr. le Pettit said. With the completion of the new waterfront 'viaduct no\v in progress direct access could be gained by swinging the approach gently to meet the end of Jellicoe Street. This was the most economical of the three routes and connected almost immediately with the main northern highway. It would make the main road at the back of Northcote the chief link with the East Coast bays and beaches. In order that the purely aesthetic ■viewpoint might not be overlooked, the witness suggested an architectural firm should collaborate with the engineers to provide a structure of pleasing appearance.

To Mr. Stanton witness admitted there might be a large area in the_city awaiting development for residential purposes, and that .population would be attracted across the harbour if a bridge were 'built. Will Give £500. "I am prepared to give £500 towards the cost of the bridge the moment it is started," said Mr. W. E. L. Napier, a resident of Devonport for 38 years. He stated the cost of some artitcles was 20 to 25 per cent higher on the North Shore than in the city. Adding that he and his family paid annually £500 in loca-l ratess,and were the largest ratepayers on the North Shore, the witness made an offer to hand over at £5000 property on which the Government valuation was £8000, the balance of £3000 to go towards the cost of a bridge if it were decided upon. (Proceeding.)