CITY COUNCIL WORKS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21978, 30 December 1936, Page 10

CITY COUNCIL WORKS

■ * ACTIVITIES OF THE YEAR REVIEW OF THE MAYOR ROADS, WATER SUPPLY, AND OTHER SERVICES The work of the Christchurch City Council during 1936 is traversed by the Mayor (Mr J. W. Beanland) in his annual civic review. Further details of roading, building, water supply, bridge, and other undertakings are given by Mr Beanland in his annual statement as chairman of the works committee of the council. "The question of the City Council taking control of the Canterbury museum and library is now under consideration," Mr Beanland states. "The council in the meantime has made a grant of £250 to each of the institutions towards their maintenance. The council also agreed during the year to find up to £ 1000 towards the fund for the completion of the Takahe building on Cashmere. "The required steps under the Public Works Act have been completed to acquire for an aerodrome at Harewood the necessary land from the Waimakariri River Trust and the cancellation of the leases. In several instances the council has been able to come to terms regarding the compensation to be paid for the unexpired portion of the leases. "The question of providing a base for seaplanes was brought before the council, and a committee was set Up to consider whether a site could be provided either in the estuary of the Avon and Heathcote rivers or in Lyttelton harbour. After careful investigation, the city engineer and the engineer to the Lyttelton Harbour Board reported against either site being suitable for the purpose. Reconstructing Buildings "Arrangements have been completed to reconstruct the Municipal Electricity Department building, and the new building will consist of four storeys. The white stone in the front of the municipal offices and the Civic Theatre having perished, it has been decided to renovate the front of these buildings and finish off with white cement. Opportunity will be taken to remove some of the overhanging stonework, which might be dangerous in the event of a severe earthquake. "The city by-laws were consolidated in 1916; since then there have been more than 20 new by-laws made. The council has decided to consolidate these, together with the numerous regulations made, and this work is now in hand. "A conference of the local bodies interested met the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) with a view to obtaining some financial assistance to complete the McCormack's Bay causeway. It is hoped that the local bodies will make a contribution and that the Government will also assist. City Highways "The policy of sealing as many streets as possible has been continued, and during the year about eight and a half miles of new work has been done, bringing the total length of road with a paved surface to 138 miles, or approximately 62 per cent, of the whole. In addition to the new work, the resealing of old roads for maintenance purposes has necessitated the covering of an increasingly large area. "To prepare roads for sealing, scarifying, regradLig, and remetalling is generally necessary, and this has been carried on steadily, more particularly during winter. The length done during the year is about 10 miles, and it is hoped to sea] most of this during the coming season. Nearly three miles of kerbing and channelling was constructed during the year. "The most important bridge work for the year is the widening of trie Gloucester street bridge on the south side- by 14 feet. It is hoped that this will encourage traffic from the Square travelling north-west to proceed over the bridge to Durham street and Victoria street. Work in Worcester Street "The Tramway Board having decided to replace the trams on the Dallington route with buses, the council approved of the construction of Worcester street with two course hot-mix full width, with covered channels, from Cathedral square to Latimer square, and 24 feet wide from there to Linwood avenue. It was later agreed at a conference that instead of the board restoring the road after lift ing the rails, it would pay the council the estimated cost of this work The board has now begun lifting the rails and the reconstruction of the road was recommenced at the Linwood avenue end It is the intention immedi--5 £ , hol Mays to start also at the Cathedral square end, and the l istart f rom this point and breamed through as quickly as posDrainage and Street Widening "Very heavy rains in February and March illustrated the necessity of improved drainage practically throughout the city. The matter has been taken up with the Drainage Board, and it is understood that that authority is giving the matter consideration. It is pleasing to note that a relief drain is now being laid in Durham street bv the Drainage Board, and this should prevent the flooding in Moorhouse avenue, which has been so prevalent with all heavy rains for some years past. "Edgeware road has been widened between Springfield road and Caledonian road, and negotiations are in hand to acquire the necessary land to widen the road between Barbadoes street and Fitzgerald street. Negotiations are now almost completed for the purchase of the land required to continue the widening of Avonside drive. Building Permits "The number of building permits for the year was the highest recorded for the last six years, and amounted to a value of £508,875, being an increase of £IOO,OOO over last year. The increase was mainly due to the subsidy which was granted for dwellings only. The subsidy has now been discontinued. Among the larger buildings for which permits were issued, are nine flats and one office. "During the year, eight times the amount has been spent on necessary repairs to workers' dwellings as was spent on similar work for the preced- I ing year. Eight more houses have I reverted back to the council, making a total of 30. All these have been inspected, and repair work is now in

progress, entailing a large amount of money. Relief Works "The policy previously adopted bv the council of decreasing the number of men on the ordinary No. 5 schemp and increasing those employed full time has been continued. Thus in the works department the number of men employed under the No. 5 scheme has gradually fallen, until it is now below 50, while the number employed full time has increased to 55. "Legislation necessitated these men working under, standard award conditions, the men receiving £4 8s a week of 40 hours, the employment promotion fund paying £2 5s towards each man's wages. These men have worked on regrading and kerbing, as outlined elsewhere. "When the chairman of the reserves committee (Cr. T. Andrews) and the superintendent oi parks (Mr M. J,_Barnett) were in Auckland recently, they saw a paddling pool in one of the parks, and thought one in St. Albans Park would be a good idea. On mentioning the fact to me, I decided to provide the funds for the purpose and the pool was recently cpened, and is enjoyed by the children visiting the park. "Community singing was as popular as ever during the winter months, and the sum of £I2OB was raised for the relief of distress."