Heaton Street

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33778, 26 February 1975, Page 16

Heaton Street

Sir, — I was amazed when going along Heaton Street to see extra tar sealing being done on the park side of this street, where I could see no signs of cracks or faulty gutters. The next day I was speechless on finding that the whole beautiful carriage-way had been covered. Very many streets in other areas are in a bad way, with gutters looking like herb gardens and full of compost. Could anyone tell me why the Mayoral Highway needs such posh treatment? Is it because of the ratepayers’ Daimler or is Heaton Street the new prestige Park Terrace? Now one knows why the rates are to go up with such a wallop. Henceforth one expects that only motorists who are ratepayers will be allowed to drive on our expensive streets; but, as the Romans said, “Woe to the conquered.”—Yours, etc., R. D. HAY. February 16, 1975. [The City Engineer (Mr P. G. Scoular) replies: “Resealing of city streets is undertaken on the basis of a technical evaluation of their condition. Streets require resealing about every eight or ten years although it is sometimes necessary to reseal a street more frequently to prevent the surface from breaking up. The annual sealing list is prepared about August of each year on the basis of a technical appraisal and is not referred to the City Council. Both the City Coun-

cil and the National Roads Board, which subsidises council work, properly insist that maintenance (that is the preservation of existing assets) must take precedence over other work. Heaton Street was last sealed in 1965 and forms a small part only of about 20 miles of street sealed over the last three months.”]