Traffic Coverage Critisised

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31786, 17 September 1968, Page 14

Traffic Coverage Critisised

Five councils in and around Christchurch have complained recently at the coverage they get from the Transport Department’s traffic inspectors. The latest to protest was the Heathcote County Council, two of whose members at the August meeting suggested control should be offered to the City Council.

The councils agree that individual inspectors are doing their best, but feel there are not enough inspectors to match the growth of traffic, that there are inadequate patrols of built-up areas and that enforcement is as much a matter of inspectors being seen on patrol as is the writing of offence notices. For three years, the Kaiapoi Borough Council had been trying to get more patrols north of the Waimakariri River, said the Town Clerk (Mr N. E. Clemens). The latest effort, on July 26, brought a reply from the Transport Department “that the need for strong enforcement staff in all districts is being kept under constant review.” The council regarded this reply as unsatisfactory, said Mr Clemens. There were three inspectors for the whole of North Canterbury—one each at Kaiapoi, Rangiora and Culverden. .

"If the Culverden officer is on holiday, Rangiora takes over his district, and the Kaiapoi inspector has to cover Rangiora as well. “It seems wrong, to the council, that there should be only two or three inspectors between the Waimakariri and Cheviot or Hanmer Springs, yet have three or four inspectors on duty at times between the Belfast Hotel and the top of Papanui.” The Lyttelton Borough’s inspector covered part of Mount Herbert County, went to Halswell, and could go as far afield as Ashburton, said the borough council’s traffic committee chairman (Cr W. S. Tredinnick). The council had complained about lack of attention, particularly with parking, and had asked for better coverage. No Satisfaction

“This has been under consideration for a long time, but we have had no satisfactory reply,” said the County Clerk at Waimairi (Mr J. Reid), recalling a series of requests to the department for more inspectors, and, latterly, for a permanent plain car patrol in the county.

Normally, the council had 11 of the department’s inspectors assigned to it, he said. This had just been reduced to 10. When rostered duties, driving tests and other nonpatrol activities were taken into account, there would be only four or five inspectors on the road at one time. “We do not consider this is enough for a county with a population in excess of 55,000, and a heavy volume of traffic,” he said.

Waimairi’s neighbour to the south, Paparua, would not support a joint request for more traffic inspectors. “We consider our coverage to be adequate,” said the County Clerk (Mr A. Kelly). “We have four inspectors fulltime, and get special assistance for week-end sports fixtures. Though we are satisfied, that doesn't imply that we think we are over-supplied with inspectors.” The Malvern County Council wants a resident inspector at Darfield, but, according to the County Clerk (Mr B. W. Perrin), there seems little prospect of this happening. “Our inspector comes from Ellesmere County, and his duties include coverage of both the Main South Road and the Main West Coast Road,” said Mr Perrin. Heavy Traffic

“We have on several occasions asked for better coverage, especially at week-ends, In the winter, there are over 5000 vehicles a day passing through Darfield, and there is heavy summer traffic to picnic spots.” The inspector now covering Malvern lives at Leeston. The Ellesmere County Council’s Clerk (Mr W. S. K. Drew) said the council believed it got reasonable service, although it could be that the inspector was over-worked. Apart from Kaiapoi Borough, the North Canterbury councils have made no complaint about coverage. The Eyre County Council recently expressed pleasure at the activities in the county of the Kaiapoi inspectors, while councillors elsewhere have condemned what they

term excessive xeal shown by inspectors in issuing “tickets.”

Commenting on the complaints, the District Officer of the Transport Department (Mr D. L. Hogan) said he strongly denied any suggestion that the increase in traffic officers had not kept pace with the growth of traffic. “The number of officers employed in this area has steadily increased, and, no doubt, will continue to increase,” he said. “Small Part”

“In Canterbury, north of the Rakaia River but excluding Christchurch City, the department’s traffic officers covered 500,000 miles on patrol and reported over 33,000 traffic offences in the last 12 months.

“The number of injury accidents in the area last year was 614, which is a very small part of the national total. “The figures I have quoted certainly do not support the contention that the coverage is inadequate. “One of the biggest advantages of the department’s traffic enforcement services is its flexibility. The department’s officers are not confined within local body boundaries and can therefore be deployed to the maximum advantage. “The decision on the appointment of more traffic officers is made by the Government when it reviews the position each year. Like the local bodies, the department realises that more traffic officers could give an even better service, but the Government must balance this need against the demand for other Government services.”