ALTERATIONS AT THORNDON.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1035, 26 January 1911, Page 2

ALTERATIONS AT THORNDON.

THE PROPOSALS EXPLAINED. It will be remembered that at a mosting of Hie Wellington City Council in December last the Mayor (Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P.) stated that the council and the Railway.Department had come to. an agreement in regard to an exchange of land at Thorndon Esplanade, necessitated by the construction of the new Hutt line. On tho same occasion Mr. Wilford described the alteration in areas' nnd boundaries that would result from the exchange. Although this is the present position of affairs, no plan of the alteration is yet available for public scrutiny. A Dominion reporter, who asked the Mayor ou Tuesday if he might be permitted to inspect such a plan, was met by.the reply that the council had none in its possession. The only plans of the alterations, Mi. Wilford stated, were in the hands of the Railway Department. Ihe council, when negotiating with tho Department, was shown plans which were in part confidential, as they showed work projected, but not yet approved. These tho council was hot permitted to retain. The Mayor, however, declared himself fully satisfied that the exchange agreed upon was equitable, and remarked that the council's engineers had advised it to that effect.

The reporter next interviewed .Ij General Manager of Railways (Mr. T. Kouayne), and . asked for permission to inspect a plan of the Thorndon alterations. To this Mr. Eonayno politely but firmly declined to accede, on the ground that the plans embodied details of work proposed in connection with the new central station which had not yet been laid before the House. To a further request that he should permit the production .of a sketch-plan showing only the alterations resulting from tlie construction of the new Hutt line,. Mr. Bonayne simply replied that. to comply would involve a departure from the rules of his Department. . The, General Manager explained, the position much as Mr. Wilford did a month ago. The Department is taking over a strip of land, approximately five feet wdde, running along the hack of the Esplanade, and also an area at its northern end, which is cut off by the new line. In exchange the Department is handing over to the council a reclaimed area lying immediately north of the boatshed which stands at the north end Of the Esplanade. The temporary crossing now in use lies south of the. old crossing, but a new permanent crossing is to be formed some chains north from the site of tho old crossing. The.new crossing, Mr. Eonayne states, will be better and safer than its predecessor, as the lines will be close together, and there will be nothing in the vicinity to obstruct the view of ; persons approaching. In about three weeks, he remarked, the three lines, that is to say, the duplicated Hutt line' and tho Manawatu line, should be completed. One Hutt lino has already been diverted, and the old line pulled up. The second Hutt line and the Mnnawatu line ara both well advanced. The lines completed, it will remain to form the road bordering the outside of the new frontage, and construct the new crossing. By March 31, Mr. Eonayne considers, the whole of the work should l>3 completed, with the possible exception of a few trifling details. A point worthy of note is that the Gfjieral Manager referred to the disposition of the Esplanade now agreed upon as temporary. Eventually, ho remarked, in order to afford sufficient accommodation .for station yards, a strip of land equal in width to the present Esplanade, and extending from it seaward .would have to. bo reclaimed. This reclamation, Mr. Ronayflo stated some time ago to the City Council, would, on tho taking over of the present Esplanade by the Bailway Department, be transferred to the city.