A COMPLAINT FROM KILBIRNIE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 100, 21 January 1908, Page 6

A COMPLAINT FROM KILBIRNIE.

INEFFICIENT TRAM' SERVICE.

DEPUTATION TO THE MAYOR.Residents of Kilbirnie havo been much ex* 1 orcised; in their minds concerning the present tramway service'to'their, suburb.; ; Matters 'came to 'a head yesterday after- , noon, when a representative .deputation.. waited upon tho. May or (Hon. T. \Y. Hislop) and;.the Tramways Committeo at the Towa' Hall:];;]]'^;-':: : V 5 ' .'' : . 'V Councillor Morrah, .introdilrcing -the' deputation', said that ithe residents of ,Kilbirnie had , a distinct grievance to, bring under the notice of the. Mayor. 1 : The present tram service was most inconvenient and- irregular. Mr. Shepherd! said]that other districts had a ten-minuto .service. There was much heavier traffic |on tho Kilbirnie cars than on the Wallace Street section; Mr! H. Higgins said that in'view of the line being the'third, on the. list iis a producing one (headed only by the two main lines, Ncwtown-Karori, and Island Bay-Gov-ernment Buildings),, it should receive the same consideration- as,the.smallest revenue* producing a.. .ten-minutes'_ -service throughout the' 'day. ' It,,'] might be said: ..that; the receipts vwere] / now , swelled '''by the through traffic to Miramar and Seatoun".'-In' reply ' to this he would point out that prior to these oxtensions being .opened the Kilbirnie, lino ; without their aid was earning more than either the Brooklyn, ' Wallace Street, or Aro Street: Sections, and was about equal 'to the Constable Street section For thirteen days from April 16-28] the earn- > ings were £446, exceeding Aro Street's r©i turns for four weeks, while, for May, 1907 (the first completo period), the figures worei Kilbirnie, £690; Brooklyn, £471; Wallace Street, : £460;'' Aro Street, £413. For -the' following month (June), the figures were; . Kilbirnie, £858; Oriental Bay, £756; Constable Street, £722; Brooklyn, £474, Wallace Street', 1 [£451; 'Aro Street-, £400. The Miramar trams had been running only a fortnight of'this period. This of the plea that Kilbirnie traffic was all due 'to Miramar. Kilbirnie wished to receive the same 1 treatment as other'parts of the • city: Population had very largely increased, and the Kilbirnie traffic al.ollo was large. - enough to warrant a ten-miuute service. Councillor Shirtcliffe suggested that per-. haps a ten-minute service could bo arranged for the rush hours, with greater intervals at other hours. • .. , Mr. Higgins said that his experience had been that the cars were just as crowded dur- „ ing the afternoon. It had been frequently found that Kilbirnio residents were unable to get to town on fine afternoons, the cars boing so full.]. ■.„ After some desultory argument His Worship intimated that the Council would consider the matter. The Tramways Committee was prepared to do all in its power to cope with the traffic. ; \ , The deputation thanked the Mayor, and then jvithdrew. ' -; .