MOTOR ROADS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18926, 15 February 1927, Page 11

MOTOR ROADS.

t A REPLY TO MR WYNYARD. [By A. F. WRIGHT.] I have read with interest the reply of Mr W. H. Wynyard, the motorist nominee on the Highways Board, to my proposata in this matter. Mr Wynyard'a contribution is both informative and instructive as to the of tLe Board and the difficulties cn-toun'.-i-rsJ. Value jf Mi- Wynyard - s Article. Hv Wyi.viirds article is of value in its dcta'i!eu vrititism "t the scheme, sliov.insj how in certain particulars the sth'iiij may be improved. It is uku ot very j-itat vuiuc in that it is not. al.le u dymsustrato that there is 'any Fuudametitn! error o;- defeat in the scheme, itself. Disappointing Aspect of the Article. ihe ar-ido, lun.uver, is in another roi{*xt oMremuly disappointing, m thai; •.vhilo it (Joes not accept the .ifheiiie put" lot ward, it is utterly barren o'f cny new ideas as to remedying the present unsatisfactory state of thliijis- it is devoid of anything of a constructive nature or of any new practical suggestion for the solving of • the present "difficulties, and leaves m ns ws were.

No New Suggestions. When ir is remembered that Mr Wynyard is the chosen nominee of the motorists of the Dominion on the Mam Highways Board, tho lack of any concrete proposal for immediate improvement in our roads is to be regretted. Responsibilities of Local Bodies. Mr Wynyard, after sTating that it was generally conceded ns a basis of al| main road control mid finance that there were three parties interested, viz., tho local body, the Government, and the motorists, emphasises the responsibility of locul bodies towards the main highways system, and then goes on to sav that putting our mam roads in order" bv the means suggested would be practically to relieve local botiics of their responsibility, throwing the whole responsibility for construction, and tho major portion for maintenance, upon the motorist; and that if the proposals were given effect to, the South Island motorists would have to anticipate increased annual charges to meet these obligations. Further, that if I was correct as to the condition of the South Island roads, the local bodies and not tho Board were to blame. Further, that, my article was ill-timed, and would not assist to a co-operation between the local bodies and the Highways Board necessary for a proper working of the Act. Beply. In.reply may I say that I have no desire to relieve the local bodies of the South Island from their responsibilities at the expense of the motorists. If, however, as a result of my suggestion) main highways suitable to modern requirements could bo constructed and local bodies as a result relieved of some of their responsibility without throwing any additional burden upon the motorist, it would be a dog-in-the-manger policy to condemn the proposal simply because it would incidentally confer a direct benefit on local authorities. No Increased Burden on Motorists. As to the possibility of the proposal throwing aiiy increased burden what ever upon the motorist, r cannot with Mr AVj'nyarU as" I. wig, however, deal with that- contention ij} detail in a subsequent article it you will grant-me space for that purpose. - Mileage of South Island Roads. ' It must be remembered that our South Island counties, have to low after 31,000 miles of road, a good portion of which has been well constructed and well maintained. Our County Councillors as a body of men are anxious to carry out their duties in a proper manner, and if they could have seen their way to have taken advantage of the Highways Act without casting ah undue burden upon their districts, they would no doubt have done so.

Motor Contribution has not Brought About Eednction la Bates. The gazetting „of these 2600 miles of niaiu highways has not.relieved local body finance. • I know of no local authority whose rates are less in consequence. 1 The suggestibn, therefore, that they are not shouldering their responsibilities and hope by so doing to be relieved of a considerable portion of their burden, is not a just oneIs hot the great expense to which our local bodies were in tho past put to in constructing their roads not to be taken into account ? Wo do not hear of the "roadless south." The grave defect of the Act is that maintenance contribution under the Act is oven now, in view of what South Island ratepayers have in the past done, inadequate and inequitable. Some means must be found of the Board further | increasing the subsidies it is empowered to grant for maintenance, if the Actj is to be of any great liso in the South Island. Being a farming community adequately served with roads sufficient ior farming tho above remarks ns to contributions to 1» made by the Board apply equally to construction as well as to maintenance. Let me givo a concrete instance:— Waimairi County Loan Proposals. Tho Waimairi County recently sought to tako advantage of the' Act, raise a loan of £40,000 to be subsidised by another £40,C00 froni tho Main Highways Board, and construct a .'bitumen road from the City, boundary to Empire Bridge, along the Marshland road from the Citv boundary to Chhneys, i" (l upon other roads. . The road to Empire Bridge, 1 *>m informed by an. officer of the Highways Board, probably carries more traffic than any other stretch of county road in New Zealand, and a well-paved, well-constructed, and expensive road is necessary. The loan was turned down mainly by the.farming community, and can it lie said thev were not justified in so -doingP Their roads were sufficient for the farming needs, and 50 per cent, of .the cost: of this huge volume of "through" or "foreign* traffic shoiill not have to be Iwme by these farmers. The Waimairi County has therefore to do the best it can. in maintaining this much-used stretch of road, yet no portion of the registration fees contributed by motorists from Christchnrch City (who largely use the road in question) can be used for this urgent work unless supplemented to the etxent of 50 per cent, by this farming community. Advantages of a Comprehensive Scheme. The construction of. a stretch of road such as above could be far better dealt with under the comprehensive scheme I suggested than under present methods.

Mr Wynvard states: "There is little doubt that a difficulty around Christchurch is the large number of small counties, many with onlv a few miles of the mainradiating highways traversing them. They have not tha length of highway or organisation to carry out maintenance on modern litiM." '•fo maintain economically a gravel road a considerable one authority i» necessary in Order to ensure that tho light power graders and dravswv be constantly employed. The faiure around Christchurcli has,

I think, resulted from want of such a condition " Hero we have ii statement d the difficulties. How has tho Board met them? Has it done tho work? Sot a bu of it! It has delegated to these numerous local bodies stretches of main highway to maintain, which Mr Wynyard frankly admits cannot under such conditions be economically maintained. Suggestions to Meet Difficulties. It was to meet difficulties such as thu other apparently unsurmountablo ones—that I suggested that the work of ihe South Island roads should be taken in hand in a comprehensive manner bv the raising of a loan, the security for the interest and sinking fund of which should be bv the pledging of the South' Island motor revenue-. Alleged Lack of Co-operation of Local Bodies. The suggestion that my article is a barrier to the co-operation of the Swutli Island local bodies with the Highways Board is, it is submitted, not borne out by.fact.. The Act was passed in 1922, and has, been in active operation for two and a half years; If the South Island local bodies hud been convinced of the fairness of that Act. they would have taken advantage of it. They are not 00-operatiiig with the Board, and Mr Wynyard thinks my letter may further harden their hearts and make it still more difficult to alter pul.lio op'inion in the Board's favour. Unless public opinion in regard to the Act in the South Island undergoes a change, thru apparently nothing will be done. The Act must surely be a tender plant if it has to bo s'o delicately sheltered from any breeze of criticism. If it is not to grow into a robust tree and bear fruit; then the sooner the winds of criticism kill it the better.

Responsibilities on the Main Highways Board. . . Mr Wynyard emphasises the obligations and responsibilities of the local bodies, but he is utterly silent as to the obligations cast upon'the Highways Board itself with regard to the main hi;»hw:iy.s. Section 9 of .the.Main Highways Act states, subject .to the discretionary power which it gives the Board to delegate its- duties: "Tho Board shall have the :sole powers of construction, reconstruction, improvement, maintenance, repair, and control of all mam highways under this Act, and for that purpose the.'powers, rights, duties, and liabilities vested in or imposed on the Governor-General or the Minister for Public Works (in the case of Government roads), or vested in or imposed on any local authority (in the -case of highways other than Government roads) are, in the case of main highways, transferred to and vested in or imposed on the Board." * I would like to ask, why has the Highways Board not met the difficulty, pointed out by Mr Wynyard, put the Act into operation r.nd done the work itself, either through the Public Works Department or by contract, instead of delegating it piecemeal, to a dozen or so local bodies inadequately, equipped to carry out this work? Why has it not put the Act into operntion. between, sav, Christchurch and Ashburton, and between Christchurch and Random, between Christchurch and Darfield, bovond the merely futile delegation of 'its powers to County Councils whom Mr Wvnyard admits are not fitted, either by the length of road delegated to.them or by the plant at their disposal, properly and economically to carry out tho work? Powers of Board to D* Work. It is very well to blame tho local bodies for not doing their job, but hero is 1 -a glaring case of delegation when the Board,- and- the'-Board only, is the' Bttay fitted. t&" do.thp work. Not only; could It do -,tho work, 'but it ha.s ample power to recover the cost as a debt from the local authorities, concerned, vide Section 18 (3), which reads as follows: "Where the work of maintenance or repair of a main highway is undertaken by the Board, any moneys payable to the Board by any local authority in respect of the cost of maintenance and repair shall be recoverable as a debt due to the Crown. . . .or may be deducted from any subsidy payable to that local authority outJof the PubKc Account." There are also similar provisions as to construction. See Section 19.

The Board's Dilemma. The Board is driven to one of two alternatives in connexion with these main roads surrounding Christchnrch—either that the Act is one which has not tho support of public opinion, upon winch it depends for its effective administration, and the Board is consequently averse to enforcing it, or else that tho Board, while laying the failure of tho Act in this connexion on the local authorities, yet itself neglects to carry out its duties by doing tho work itself and collecting tho due contributions from the locnl authorities. Delay and Postponement. In tho meantime, while the Board is waiting for a change in public opinion, we have to put'up with the bad roads,, and the funds contributed by motorists are not to be used for the purpose" for which they are subscribed, but nre to be accumulated in the coffers of the Main Highways Board with, as I have stated, an ever-increasing possibility of their being diverted'to North Island needs. .Diversion pt Funds. I was pleased to notice Mr Wynvard's article, that the South Island funds have 'been kept intact—that a resolution of the Main Highways Board h..:l been passed which preserved the integritv of these funds. Surely, however. Mr Wynyard knows that a mere resolution of such a Board could be rescinded, that such a resolution has not the force of statute, and tbnt while, l am sure Mr Wvnyard himself and the nresent members of the Board would be no parties to the diversion of funds to the North'lsland, political pressure may be brought to bear upon Parliament, and the risk which T pointed out of these funds being so diverted, is a very real one. Accounts of Main Highways Board. While on this point, may I say I have perused the accounts of the Highways Board with interest, and-in many respects thev are clear and lucid to a degree. It does not, however, appear from the published accounts as if .there were separate accounts kept of the North Island and South Island funds. I would suggest that separate accounts sluuld be kept (if they are not already kept), and they should be so published, so that one might see at a glance the exact state of the account of each Island. Other Criticism. I intend, if you will allow me. to deal In a subsequent article with tho criticism W Mr Wynyard of the details of the scheme suggested by mo for tho raising of a loan to'carry out in a uniform' and comprehensive manner improvement in our South Island roads and tho utilising of the accumulations in hand and the yearly income from motorists' for immediate road . im-prov-.nents. EVOLVING-'A POLICY. DISCUSSION BY MOTORISTS. ■ For the purpose of discussing questions affecting, the policy of improving main highways, a special'meeting-ot "the-Canterbury Automobile Association wa< held last evening. Motorists', and counties' representation on the Main Highway's Board/the

dilatoriness of v couhties in availing themselves of the Board's subsidy, and the wisdom of having on©' or two Boards was discussed. Mr B. Falck, .the president, was in tho chair. «t •. ■ . ", .' . ~'• . Mr Q. S. Moms moved.that the Association favoiirsthe South Island having a motorists' representative on the Board. : . , , ~ Mr P. W. Freeman seconded the motion, which was carried. . . It was also decided on or Mr F. W. Johnston that if the proportion of County Council representation be increaied the motorists shonldflave equal representation accordingly.. Mr W. R. Carey moved,, and Mr Freeman seconded, that the motorists should have a representative on the district Highways Councils. The motion was-.carried. These motions will be submitted to the South Island, Union ns remits. It was agreed to call a meeting ot the representatives of County Councils in Canterbury from the Clarence to the Rnugitata' with-a view to evolving a policy bv which the condition of the roads in* the South Island may be improved, the South Island Union to arrange for similar conferences m other districts in the South Island. The executive and Mr Johnston were appointed to confer with a Main[Highways Board official and. formulate proposals for the conference.