STREET CONSTRUCTION.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14029, 28 April 1911, Page 4

STREET CONSTRUCTION.

MR T. E. TAYLOR'S SCHEME

In the course of several addresses during the progress of the Mayoral election campaign, Mr T. E. Taylor. M.P., the new Mayor, made reference to the possibility of his being able to design a scheme'for re-constructing the surface of the greater portion of the city's streets. , Sfon by a '-Press" reporter yestordav. Mr Tavlor said that he believed thin the finance could he so arranged as to enable the work to be carried out without its being necessary to raise the nionev needed for the payment or interest and the establishment of a sinking fund by means of additional taxation. Over thirty miles of heavily tarred macadam road e"utd be constructed, the life of which- subject to top dressing, that is, tarring and gritting, every second year—-should be twenty years, at a cost of from 1:90,000' to £100.000. The interest upon this sum would not exceed £4,000 per annum. So far he had not obtained reliable figures showing the exact amount that viTiiild be required to be set aside as annual contributions forming a sinking fund to repay the loan at a date corresponding with the life of the .streets, but he was of opinion that considerably less than £3000 per annum would be sullieient for this purpose. From a siirvt-v of the City Council balancesheet, and after consultation with some of the municipal officers, he thought that he would bo able to show at an early date that provision could be made for both interest and sinking fund to be met out of the money now cxneiided annually upon repairs to and the maintenance of the streets. After these expenditures r. balance shou'd remain sufficient to. do justice to the remainder of the streets, pending their being dealt with upon lines similar to t.iose which would be applied to the thirty miles of street first receiving atvonl ion. To carry out the work of permanent construction of these thirty miles of street would involve tho authorisation by the city of a Street Formation Loan of from "£90,000 to £100,000. "i feci sure," said Mr Taylor, "that the ratepayers will give careful consideration to a proposal dealing with the street question, on tho lines suggested, it the City treasurer is able to give nvsm-ance that tho interest and sinking fund will Ik- such as can be met out of the existing revenue. I intend to ask the Works Committee to take up the consideration of this matter at the ear'icd possible date. If after consideration the scheme is found to be sound, it will come before the ratepayers for approval. I think the thirty miles of street should be constructed within three years —I would urge that it be done in from two to three years so that the cost nvi'dit be reduced."