Bus Route Upsets Seen In Motorway Proposals

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32077, 27 August 1969, Page 7

Bus Route Upsets Seen In Motorway Proposals

Changes that would result from proposals for the Christchurch central motorway and its associated roads would lead to maximum disturbance to bus routes, and he felt that the public was not fully aware of the implications, and would not become so until the new system was operating, said the Christchurch Transport Board’s general manager (Mr J. F. Fardell) at a meeting yesterday of the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority.

The authority was considering two reports dealing in detail with the final location and provisional layout for (the central section of the northern and southern motorways. Pointing out that the proposals would end complete circulation of the Square by traffic, Mr Fardel! said it would be most desirable if the “bus only” route in the Square could be in the north-east arc, rather than the north-west.

“It is not clear to me whether Worcester Street will Ibe closed at Latimer Square, :or whether it will be allowed : to be open,” said Mr Fardell.

“Alt east-bound services except one pass up this road, and a change would involve 12,700 miles of extra running

I a year for no return and de- ■ lay to passengers.” j At peak times, Mr Fardeli . said, buses were much more ' efficient at moving people than private cars. The chairman (Mr G. D ' Griffiths) said that a special 1 report on bus services and ’ routes had been sent to the • City Council, which had not yet replied. The board was also concerned at the cutting off of ! Cashel Street at Barbadoes Street, said Mr Fardell. This was the natural route to the sea and a major bus route. To divert it would not be in the board’s interest, and thus against the public interest. It was doubtful if much of the criticism of the motorway and associated network could be justified, said the chairman of the City Council’s works committee, Cr G. D. Hattaway. “Nasty Feeling” Of 12 major roads running east to west, five would be changed to one-way streets. There would be better provision for east-west traffic. The question of Worcester Street, he said, was the subject of an appeal by the authority to the City Council. He had a nasty feeling that the whole s34m scheme would be out of date before it was completed, said Cr R. H. T. Thompson (Heathcote County). He was worried by the lack of consideration for public transport, and the attention paid to “the dirty, noisy,, reeky motor-car." “I am uneasy about the elevated motorway, when the trend elsewhere is to conceal it,” he said. “What really concerns me is not what is in the reports, but what is not in them.” Though the reports showed enormous technical skill, the requirements of the people had not been taken into account, he said. The reports assumed land uses 30 years ahead, but much of tills implied knowledge that the authority did not have. The “concrete jungle” criticism would be levelled at aU motorways until they were in use and people became used to them, said the authority’s traffic engineer (Mr M. Douglass). All design was based, as far as possible, on recent ideas elsewhere. The authority’s forecasts over the last 10 years had been extremely accurate. Special Committee Comments on the proposals had been received from the National Roads Board, said Mr Griffiths. It was suggested that more land than was needed for the motorway was being protected, and that while a decrease in over-all width of 30 feet was possible, this would not save much, if any, property. Multiple use of the space below the viaducts was suggested. j Mr Griffiths said that even | with the narrowed median,

very few properties could be released. The recommended corridor was adequate fqr flexibility in design, staging and construction, and when combined with the use of the space under the roadway, could be the best and cheap, est solution. The reports were adopted for submission to the councils concerned and the. National Roads Board, and it was decided to set up a special committee to study and report on the control of development adjacent to the motorway corridors. Mr Griffiths said the committee would comprise experts in the fields of motorway planing and construction, civic design, real estate, property purchase and city planning. The authority also decided to make submissions to the National Roads Board asking for the allocation of more funds. It was suggested that present spending by councils at $2.53m a year should be increased to $3.2m between 1870 and 1874.