MAIN ARTERIAL ROADS

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 105, 19 January 1923, Page 6

MAIN ARTERIAL ROADS

VIEWS OF THE PROGRESS LEAGUE

“WORST IN NEW ZEALAND”

MOTOR LORRY MENACE The main arterial roads leading from the city of Wellington are the worst to be found leading to and from any town of importance in New Zealand, according to statements contained in a report submitted at the meeting of the Central Progress League on Wednesday evening by the chairman (Mr. P. C. Watt). “Immediately you leave the centre of the city,” stated Mr. Watt, “you are confronted by roads, the* width of which in addition to the blind and narrow corners, are a menace to the public. Overhanging of Lorries.

“Dealing with the outlet to the Manawatu district, all tho way from Ngahauranga to Otaki, the mind is exercised as to whether one is to get through safely or not, especially at this time of the year, when so many large motor lorries loaded with wool, etc., are travelling. The width of these vehicles when loaded is approximately 10ft., and as many long stretches of the road do not exceed 12ft. to 14ft. in width, great is the inconvenience, and many grave risks have to be taken by both parties in passing on account of having to back a long distance (sometimes on dangerous hills) to a placo of sufficient width on the. road, and when one happens to get behind a vehicle travelling in the same direction it means one hour late for anv appointment that may have been made.

"A Deplorable Condition.” ‘The condition of the roads abovementioned is deplorable. In manv places when travelling at the rate of 20 miles per hour, often the four wheels of an average-weight motorcar are off the road at one time when passing over the continuous succession of potholes that occur for miles on account of the heavy traffic. From Otaki on to Palmerston North a decided improvement is. quite' notipenblc. The number of small bridges between Wellington atid Palmerston labelled ‘unsafe’ for heavy traffic is worthy of particular mention. “A Vast Improvement.” “The public Works Department is to be congratulated on the vast improvement being carried out on the Wellington side of the Pnekakariki Hill. The improved part of the road, winding through the picturesque val'ev of beautiful scenery, when finished will be a fair sama’s of tho roads that we should, and'l hope will, have in tho near future. To fully appreciate the excellent improvement on this road one would require to have known the old one, with its narrow width and dangerous corners. Each week shows good progress, and it is to be hoped that the work will bo continued until both sides of this dangerous hill are made safe for traffic. Satisfied Workers. “In conversation with the men from time to time, they express th“mselve« as satisfied, and appreciate the employment provided when all other sources of emnlovmcnt were p r ncti<* ally at a. standstill and the ranks of unemp'oved such a difficult nroblem to deal with. The pay received is: Single men, 10s. per day; married men, 12s per day: and they are charged Is. pe r meal with accommodation provided “A great deal of credit i« duo to our s-'cretarv, Mr. G. Mitchell, for his untiring efforts on behalf of the unemployed, which caused the above and other works to bo undertaken. In this direction, and manv others, during his three years in Parliament ho proved himself tho best friend of the people who required assistance—a real worker’s representative. Vigorous Campaign Required.

“The local bodies responsible for the width and condition of our main roads should get in earnest about the question. even if it means the raising of special loans, for without a vigorous campaign of road improvement the Wellington district cannot make the progress that is so necessarv to k"pp pace with the other provinces. The people must insist that the representatives who a.re returned at elections ■—local or otherwise—will at least see that the grants allocated to the%district are spent, and impress upon them that the roads of fifty years ago,, which were bui't for wheelbarrows and dogcarts, are no longer of any use to meet the advanced means of transport of the present day.”

Members’- Views. During the course of the general discussion which followed Mr. W. S, Wilson declared that no capital citv in the British Empire had “such rotten roads as M ell ngton.” It was quite time, he added, that some practical measures' were set in operation for their improvement. The chairman: The methods of repair are obso’ete. The ho’es are simply filled with clay that tho first downfall of rain washes away. A member: It’s time the Government took over the main arterial roads in the Dominion ; the by-roads can be left in the hands of the local body. ■ That an agitation should be made for the operation of the Highway' Bill was a suggestion advanced by Mr. Wilson. It was decided to write to the loca' authority on the question 'of overhanging by motor lorries, and the secretary "was directed 1 to go into the matter of the Bill and submit a report to the next meeting.