LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25551, 20 July 1948, Page 6

LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION

Greater Christchurch Proposals EVIDENCE ON TRAMS AND TRAFFIC With various local authorities granting drivers’ licences, the standard varied, and sometimes it was too low, said Mr •Clyde Drayton William Lilly Sheppard, chairman of the traffic * committee of the Christchurch City Council, to the Local Government Commission yesterday, when he gave evidence in support of the council’s claim for the amalgamation of surrounding borough and county areas with the city. It could fairly be said that the City Council demanded a high standard, covering not only driving ability, but an elementary knowledge of the traffic regulations and by-laws, he added. The system of tram stops in the city was criticised by Cr. Sheppard, who said that the Tramway Board, whose functions the City Council seeks to absorb, had tended to use the Square as a station and shunting ground. He believed that the maintenance of roads would be better if the council controlled tram tracks. George Griffiths, chairman of the council’s town planning and building committee, gave details of the council’s housing policy, and said that none of the local bodies affected by the city’s claims had developed housing to the same extent as the city.

CENTRAL CONTROL ADVOCATED

All communities were experiencing difficulty in keeping up with the increasing traffic problems, said Cr. Sheppard, and central control should allow a quicker appreciation of requirements and a quicker extension of developments and improvements. Appliances which smaller local authorities could not afford could be bought by the city. The city’s loudspeaker patrol car used for propaganda would be used in the proposed new areas, ensuring that the car did greater work with less monotony to the public. The city’s stocks of regulation traffic signs could be utilised in adjacent areas, and costs would be reduced. In some local bodies a traffic inspector was only partly on traffic duties, so that he became less of a specialist, Cr. Sheppard continued. There might be an urgent call for traffic duties at a time when there was an urgent call for the official to attend to his other duties. “Patrol services should be continuous through real traffic hours, even where adjacent local bodies have their own inspectors,’’ he said. Under city control the larger staff would ensure an intensive, continuous patrol system. As most persons in the metropolitan area worked and received their entertainment in the city itself, the natural

place for inquiries on traffic matters was a central office. There was great co-operation between the police and city traffic inspectors in the control of race traffic, he said, but he believed that the city officers could efficiently control the traffic if the racecourses near the city came within the proposed city boundaries. Latest figures showed that there were 32,141 motor vehicles registered in the city and the proposed new areas, and 34,700 licensed drivers, of whom it was estimated that 8300 lived in the areas affected by the City Council’s proposals. Cr. Sheppard produced figures which showed that 2717 persons were reported for traffic offences in the city in the year ended June 30. Those who lived in the city totalled 1817. There were 301 from Waimairi, 201 from Riccarton, 133 from Heathcote, 108 from Paparua, 95 from Kaiapoi, 43 from Halswell, and 19 from Lyttelton. Traffic inspectors appointed by the City Council were entitled to exercise the powers conferred on them by the regulations on any road within the boundaries of the No. 14 Heavy Traffic District. The fees collected, after 5 per cent had been deducted for collection and supervision, were distributed among the 24 local bodies in the district on the basis of the amount spent on the maintenance of roads.

TRAFFIC JAMS IN CITY

“The City Council is of-the opinion that there are too many stops in the central area, and has asked the Tramway Board to reduce the number of stops within the inner area, and that such stops should not be at corners, but between blocks,” Cr. Sheppard said. “The council has not sufficient power to force the board to rectify the position.” He referred to the negotiations between the two bodies to have the tram stop at the comer of Armagh and Colombo streets shifted, and said that a bottleneck of traffic was caused there. At peak periods traffic was held up and a line of the hold-up generally extended the whole length of the block along Colombo street, with other trams waiting ir. the Square. The stop was still in its originaL position, but the boardnad agreed that stops should be adjusted. A similar, but not so serious position arose in - Colombo street south of the Square through too many stops being made between the Square and Moorhouse avenue. One-man trams had caused many of the traffic jams in the city, and the council had urged the board to employ, at least within the inner area, conductors on such trams so that passengers could get on and off more quickly. The board had said that the staffing position had been one of the factors why conductors could not be employed on such trams. “When the council instituted the gyratory system of traffic flow and control in Cathedral square, the Tramway Board was asked to fall in line

with the proposal,” said Cr. Sheppard. “At first they refused to consider cooperating with the council, even with their buses, but after prolonged attempts and pressure the board agreed and permitted the buses to follow the gyratory system. This in itself was a great improvement. “The board was then requested to have the New Brighton tram follow this system, but it has persistently refused to do so. The board refuses to do anything and repeats that the matter will be cared for in the board’s long-range improvement programme.” Cr. Sheppard mentioned instances where trams were run contrary to the usual rule of the road. Any reorganisation of tram services could be done as efficiently, “perhaps more .70,” by the council as it could -by the. Tramway Board, he said. During his evidence, Cr. Sheppard said he was handing in as exhibits copies of leading articles from a Christchurch newspaper at a time when there was a dispute about the Riccarton tram stop in the Square. “Are we expected to take these as evidence?” asked the chairman (Mr I. J. Goldstine). “They are the opinion of only one man.” Mr W. R. Lascelles (for the City Council) said the articles were handed in, not as evidence, but to show that disputes had arisen between the council and the Tramway Board. “I was proposing to object to their admission,” said counsel for the Tramway Board (Mr J. D. Hutchison). The chairman: You may take it that the commission will pay no attention whatever to them.

WORK OF TRAFFIC INSPECTORS

To Mr H. P. Smith (for the Riccarton Borough Council), Cr. Sheppard said he considered that city traffic inspectors could provide a better service in Riccarton than was given now by the inspectors of the Transport Department. ..who worked in Riccarton. Mr A. C. Perry (for the Heathcote County Council), after Cr. Sheppard had agreed that Transport Department inspectors attended to the county’s traffic, asked: “Would you agree that the only way in which your officers are more experienced than Transport Department inspectors is in putting chalk marks on cars in Hereford street?’’ “I would not,” replied the witness. Cr. Sheppard agreed that the former chief traffic inspector in the city had worked for the Transport Department before he came to Christchurch, and added: •'And he has now reapplied to come back to the job from the Transport Department.” “You have told me that you can administer the amalgamated area without an increase in staff, dispensing with the Transport Department inspectors who are controlling the outer areas,” said Mr Perry. “I say that if that is so you should be ashamed to have the number of staff that you have in your present department.” Cr. Sheppard said that in the early stages there would have to be an exploration of the work, and if any staff increase was warranted it would be made. He did not agree that the investigation should have been made before he gave evidence, as it was not known what areas the commission would consider the city should control. Questioned on the amalgamation of the Domains Board with the City Council, Cr. Sheppard said city ratepayers should have been aware that they would have an increase in rates to meet the loss of contributions from other local bodies represented on the board. He considered that the advantages of amalgamation outweighed the small increase. To Mr Hutchison, who appeared for the Waimairi County Council, the Paparua County Council, and the Christchurch Tramway Board, Cr. Sheppard said he knew there was statutory authority for the present tram routes, which had been fixed many years ago to the satisfaction of Public Works Department officials. He knew that during the war there was a shortage of labour and material, and that the board could not obtain an automatic point-change necessary if the stops on the corner of Armagh and Colombo streets were to be amended. If there was a tramway committee of the City Council he did not think there would be the same differences of opinion between that committee and the traffic committee as there were between the council and the board. It was possible

that the committees would be co-ordi-nated as a transport committee. When Mr Hutchison was cross-examin-ing Cr. Sheppard discussion arose on whether bicycles were covered by the Motor-Vehicle Regulations. Cr. Sheppard said that a cyclist could not be prosecuted for passing a stationary tram, unless he was negligent. Mr Stephens Ihter said that regulation 40, which dealt with the rules of the road, did not apply to cyclists. Asked by Mr C. G. Penlington (for the New Zealand Refrigerating Company) about the Islington area which the council proposes should be included in the city, Cr. Sheppard said that area had been fully considered by the committee which considered the counciPs claims. His own view was that ultimately the area should come into the city, but did not think it was particularly necessary at present. While Mr E. C. Champion (for the Christchurch Drainage Board) was questioning Cr. Sheppard on the views of Cr. W. P. Glue, a member of the council’s special committee and of the Drainage Board, on the proposal for the City Council to absorb the functions of the board, the chairman said: “There have been veiled suggestions that certain councillors did not support the general proposal. If they did not agree they should have voted against it, and if they did not so vote it does not count with me.” Mr F. B. Stephens (counsel to the commission): You say you are in favour of unified control of traffic. Could you not get it by handfng it over to the Transport Department? Witness: The council has considered it, but rejected it. He had no criticism of the work of the Transport Department inspectors in adjacent areas, Cr. Sheppard said. There was no lack of a proper standard in the issuing of driving licences, but in Waimairi there was no hill-driving test such as the city had. Mr Stephens: Do you not think there might be conflict between your traffic officers, the Transport Department, and the police on. say. the Royal visit. Cr. Sheppard. I don’t see why there should be. I put it to you that there was conflict during the visit of Lord Montgomery— There might have been, but We should profit by experience, and I think the difficulties have been ironed out. Generally, the council’s aim was to educate motorists, whereas the Transport Department’s policy in adjacent areas seemed to tend more to prosecution, said Cr. Sheppard to Mr J. W. Andrews, a member of the commission. This was nullified to an extent by the department's traffic education in schools. The City Council wanted similar facilities in schools. To the chairman, he said the council had negotiated for permission for its traffic officers to give lectures in city schools.

COUNCIL’S HOUSING PROJECTS

The City Council had co-operated fully with the Metropolitan Town Planning Committee, and had amended its town planning scheme to conform to that of the committee’s scheme, said Cr. Griffiths. There was no uniformity of building bylaws, and although the city’s might not be perfect they had been amended constantly and kept up-to-date, Cr. Griffiths said. Two counties until quite recently had no building by-laws, and one still had none. The by-laws of the other local bodies were not efficient. Factories built in the city had to be made from permanent materials, but outside the city timber could be used. The disparity did not assist good living conditions. Uniform standards for the subdivision •f land should now exist over the whole , metropolitan area in accordance with the metropolitan town planning scheme, he said. The city had altered its by-law to comply with the standards. Before the adoption of the metropolitan standards other local bodies had standards lower than those of the city. In subdivisions of more than three acres the city required the owner to transfer 5 per cent, of the land for reserves.

The council had a progressive policy of widening existing narrow roads and in rounding off corners. “With 96 units for pensioners, the City Council has a unique record,” he said. “The scheme is completely satisfactory, and we have not hac’ a bed debt. W’e would go ahead with more homes but costs have become so high that we would have to throw a portion of it back to the ratepayers.” The council recently built 55 permanent homes, and had provided 134 flats for transit housing, occupants -or which were selected from the metropolitan area, and not only the city area. It was now considering a further housing scheme for immigrants. It had a special Act of Parliament allowing it to take over land and subdivide it for housing. This allowed the development of multi-owned waste back > land. The witness told Mr Perry (for the] Heathcote County Council) that he had I not been aware that Heathcote had a j housing scheme. If it had it had not' done much in recent years. When the commission resumes this morning, the cross-examination of Cr.' Griffiths will be continued. i