TO-DAY’S VOTE ON CITY LOANS

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 183, 1 May 1929, Page 13

TO-DAY’S VOTE ON CITY LOANS

THE CASE AGAINST PRESENT WESTERN ACCESS PROPOSAL NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN TRANSPORT

(By Ratepayer.) To-day the citizens will be asked to record their votes for or against important loan proposals submitted by the City Council. There are important reasons why these should be subjected to serious scrutiny. In the first place there has been a general increase in property valuations, which, whatever the Mayor may say, must mean an increase in the rates. In the second place it must be remembered that the council has loan commitments which have not been authorised by votes of the ratepayers, commitments under unemployment loans authorised by the Government Loans Board. In other words, the loan proposals to be voted upon to-day do not by any means represent the full load which the city has to carry. The Tramway Extensions Loan proposals, in particular, are open to the very serious objection that they take no account of modern developments in motor transport. A few days ago inspired propaganda in favour of the perpetuation of the tramway system appeared in the local Press. For what purpose? Undoubtedly to influence voters in favour of tramway extensions. The cases of a number of large cities in Great Britain were cited to show that the tramways were still held to be the most popular and the most profitable method of public transport. In this connection the fact must be noted that the vested interest in the tramway systems of these cities is enormous. In other words, public opinion is tied hard and fast to an incubus which is too costly to be scrapped. Is Wellington to be similarly tied? The English city of Wolverhampton has decided definitely that it shall not be so tied, with the following results, noted in the London “Daily Express”: “An example to the world in street traffic is being set by Wolverhampton, which has established itself as far as traffic is concerned as the fastest city in England” (says the “Daily Express”). Deputations have come, or are coming during this year, from three British colonies and five European countries to watch the Wolverhampton streets and to marvel thereat. An official German film was recently taken of Wolverhampton street trafficand the way it is controlled, for dW play to municipalities throughout Germany. “There are two reasons for Wolverhampton’s success,” adds the writer in the “Daily Express.” “The town has definitely abolished its tramway system —the last two miles of tramway track is being torn up now—and has adopted a special mechanical traffic controller which works electric lights at important road junctions. “ ‘From the statistics I have gathered from London and the great provincial towns,’ said Mr. David Webster, the Wolverhampton chief constable, ‘we are at least 25 per cent, faster in our streets than any place which had tramways. With tramcars away and automatic traffic points we have brought down our street accidents by 60 per cent. The difference in the streets is remarkable. Even at the busiest times the rate of flow of all mechanical vehicles through the centre of Wolverhampton never falls below fifteen miles an hour, and normally one could drive from end to end of the town at twenty miles an hour. Each of our electric control installations cost at first £lOO, and then £l2 a year for electric current. For that £lOO outlay and £l2 a year maintenance a control will do the work of a policeman costing altogether £5OO a year. The saving in the ratepayers’ money is so much that it is a wonder to me our system has not been adopted everywhere. It should be remembered, too, that an electric controller cannot err. It is impartial, and all its signals, “Stop,” “Caution.” and “Go on.” cannot be misunderstood. Tramways have been replaced in the town by really luxurious six-wheeled, pneumatic-tired, double-decked ‘trollyomnibuses,’ taking their electric power from overhead cables, but driven and steered like motor-cars.’

“ ‘Our average working speed,’ said Mr. Charles Owen Silvers, one of the officials, ‘is more than 20 per cent, higher than with the most modern type of electric tramear. We save time, particularly in setting down and taking up, because the ‘trolly-omnibuses’ are able to pull in to the pavements. We do not delay other traffic by our fixed track. Maintenance costs are infinitely less, for we have no track upkeep to meet.

“ ‘We have nearly paid off our old tramway debt. It will be cleared away by March. 1931, and last year we made a" profit of £30.000. Taking away our tramway lines has had the effect of doubling the width of our roads. We have doubled our road capacity by a stroke, and saved money as well. There is little doubt that every tramway undertaking in towns of a size comparable to Wolverhampton or smaller will be dead within the next few years.’”

The Wellington western access proposals are flying in the face of modern experience. Not only that, they involve expensive street widening for double tramway tracks, which a modern up-to-date motor-omnibus service would altogether obviate. Properties have to be purchased and demolished. An ancient burial ground, with great historic associations, is to be invaded. In the light of Wolverhampton’s experience. why does the council not take such a timely opportunity of trying out the plan adopted by that city before embarking upon such a costly enterprise? The council has never yet made a straight-out trial of the omnibus system. Whatever it has done has been in a tentative way. and always with the interests of the tramways dominating these experimental services. What is wanted is a thorough trial < f omnibus transport over a definite route, without tramway competition of any kind whatever.

The citizens should not sanction the Bowen Street-Sydney Street proposal until the more modern and Infinitely cheaper method has been given a fair triaL—-Published by Arrangement