PLANNING A MODEL CENTRE

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 98, 19 January 1933, Page 19 (Supplement)

PLANNING A MODEL CENTRE

Improvements in Streets and Lanes ALTERATIONS IN THE BUSINESS AREA Napier Rebuilds on Modern Lines Napier is a re-planned town. Out of the chaos wrought two years ago has arisen a business and commercial centre that is not only restored, but in many respects is entirely new. Thebe has been no haphazard rush to rebuild at all costs, to create for to-morrow the conditions and facilities of yesterday. Instead, the people of Napier, led by the far-seeing few, are building a city for the future, better designed and better equipped. The Napier of to-morrow —it might almost be said, of to-day—will astonish those who see it this summer for the first time since the upheaval. It will rouse admiration, for it is being transformed into a model town —beautiful in architecture and modern in every detail, from the curved corners of'its widened streets to the glinting pl ate-glass and nickel-steel of its fascinating shop windows.

gotiations, or leisurely conferences. Something had to be done and done ' speedily, if town planning was to play its rightful part in reconstruction. “Fortunately special powers had been conferred upon the Napier Commission,” said Mr. Hurst. “These powers enabled the bringing down of regulations to put the position in order. .Nevertheless it was a year before we got. under way—and it seemed like 10 years.”

corners of every street intersection. The preparation ' for the widening of Tennyson Street, Emerson Street, Dickens Street, Dalton Street. .Market Street, and Church Street involved possibly the most painstaking and complicated work associated with the reconstruction of Napier. "No one who did not take part could imagine the work that has been in it,” said Mr. J. S. Barton, Commissioner, in paying a tribute to the efforts of the committee. “Every detail had to be scrutinised, and apart from the delicate negotiations masses of legal documents had to be examined in determining the allocation of compensation.” '' Straightening a Legal Tangle. The task was made doubly difficult by the legal chaos caused as a result of the destruction of title deeds, mortgage documents, plans, and other data in the earthquake and lire. Whereas in the San Francisco disaster these important, documents were preserved and the reconstruction could proceed on an established legal course, in Napier a fresh start had to be made. While Government representatives struggled with the giant task of sorting out proofs of ownership and particulars as to boundaries and loans, the committeemen negotiated tactfully with owners whose personal losses had been enormous and with business people whose future at that time was dark and uncertain. “We approached the business men in groups and talked to them like Dutch uncles,” said Mr. Hurst in describing the street-widening programme. “The

An ambitious programme bad been prepared by the committee, but, in the face of the multitude of difficulties involved, many modifications were necessary. It was a case of considering existing ways and means and acting upon that basis, for the urgency of the'rebuilding problem prohibited armchair development of the proposals. As a member of the committee put it, it was a case of “keeping our heads in the skies, but our feet very firmly on the ground.” Approximately CO street corners in Napier have been splayed. Many of these corners, by reason of the early completion of buildings, have now been completed, and at. the time of writing the finishing touches are being applied to many others. In all cases the progress of this work, now that the necessary legal readjustments have been made, is dependent solely upon the rate nt: which premises are being erected. It is safe to sa'y, however, that by the end of the summer there will be few gaps in the neat footpaths of concrete slabs that surround each block and swing smoothly round the blunt

liosition was that, assuming a man owned a piece of laud 100 per cent, in area as compared with before the quake, we asked him to give 10 per cent, (o (he borough. Where sections were shallow, as between ’Tennyson and Emerson Streets, we approached owners on the other side. “The value of land is determined by the use that can be made of it. That applies to a city area as much as to anywhere else, and it was on that argument that we based our proposition. We set out to prove that everyone had so much to gain by giving.” Tennyson Street, Emerson Street. Dickens Street, and Market Street liiivo each been widened by It) feet. Dalton Street, formerly a narrow thoroughfare, little more than a lane, has leen widened by 24 feet, and Church Street has been transformed from a lane into a street. One of the most striking changes is that which has been brought about in Emerson Street, the effect of the widened thoroughfare being enhanced by the remarkable improvement in the types of buildings erected on either side. Emerson Street is now one of the show streets of Napier—a business area that in the appearance of its shop fronts, the unbroken 'lines of its postless verandas, and the simple beauty of its architecture, must rank' among the most beautiful thoroughfares of the Southern Hemisphere. The establishment of service lanes — subsidiary streets within city blocks is perhaps a more descriptive term —is one of the most interesting features

of re-planned Napier, and one which undoubtedly will set an example to town-planners of the future. Only to some extent are they unique, being an elaboration of previously-conceived ideas. Service Lanes Laid Out. In effect the service lanes 6f Napier t’re glorified right-of-ways, cutting through the centres of two blocks and providing full vehicular access to the rear portions of all the buildings they pass. There are two such lanes, one running from end to end of the block bounded by Tennyson Street. Emerson street, Dalton Street and Market Street, rhe other serving the large block bounded by Emerson, Dickons, Dalton, and Hastings Streets. The widths of the lanes vary between 12 ;nid 1.8 feet, and the last-named lane enters in Dalton Street, twists in conformity with the various depths of rhe sections flanking it, and. near the other end of the block, turns at right-angles, on l-iickoiis Strcor. "Ilore again yon have rhe sound argument that there is much to be gained by giving." said Mr. Durst in referring to the negotiations for the creation of the service lanes. “In rhe case of a great many deep and fairly narrow city sections, our of. say, uh) feet of depth, 90 were built on and the remaider formed a more or less useless and untidy backyard. In some cases these spare areas were occupied by sheds and storage places, useful in their way, but not economic, considering the value of the laud on which they stood. Owners of such sections could well afford to give up 10 feet or so and thus secure rear access to their main premises. In one case a rear shed, formerly used as a storeroom, is now being let for 30/- a week simply because the tenant is able to gain access to it from the nearby st reel.”

Essential Services Carried. Besides admitting vehicles the two service lanes carry sewerage, drainage, water, and other services which ordinarily would be laid in the nearby streets. In the event of fire, the brigade motors can be driven into the heart of the blocks, and on busy days, when traffic is heavy, goods can be delivered and removed from shops without the need for lorries to stand in rhe principal thoroughfares. Special building regulations have obviated the possibility of the service lanes degenerating at any future date into slum areas. This has been guarded against by the prohibition of public entrances from the lanes to the buildings Hanking them. Thus there will be no incentive for them to be used by pedestrian traffic and no possibility of small shops being built with frontages in the lanes themselves. The total cost of compensation and the legal costs associated with the establishment of the service lanes, rhe widening of the streets, and the splaying of the corners, will be £30,000. This is considered to be an exceedingly reasonable figure in view of the magnitude 5 of the work and all that it implies. It has been made economical solely by reason of the .splendid publie spirit of the majority of property owners. Attitude of the Owners.

“In many a case owners who had lost heavily in the earthquake and tire met us very reasonably,” Mr. Hurst said. "They asked. 'ls it for the good of the town?’ and when the committee told them it was, that was enough. Had it not been for the manner in which the citizens concerned rose to the occasion it would have been impossible to carry the scheme to its present lengths.”' Narrow sections with only one frontage presented comparatively few difficulties in the way of successful negotiation, and in the majority of cases the necessary footage at the rear was surrendered as a gift to the borough. The heaviest compensation became necessary in the case of corner sections. It follows that, whereas an owner who surrenders portion of a one-front-age section loses nothing in frontage, he who owns a corner section must lose either on one side or another an area of frontage determined by the amount of street widening that is carried out. In some cases much valuable window space was absorbed in this manner, and. of course, reasonable reimbursement is being arranged. Financing of Compensation. . The financing of the compensation has been made possible by an insurance company loan of £lO.OOO and the diversion of £20.000 of other loan

moneys. ’This will not, however, remain a dead weight on the shoulders of the sorely-pressed Napier borough. On the contrary, in the course of time the street improvement will represent a,good investment by reason of betterment charges and the increased revenue that will result from a revaluation of the areas concerned. It is expected that a revaluation will be carried out in the near future, and that property in Napier city will be placed on a valuation basis commensurate with the enormous improvement that has been brought about. Another improvement work that will greatly enhance the appearance of Hie town as well as helping to deal with the traffic problem, consists of the partial levelling anl laying-out of a large vacant section at the north end of Hastings Street, and bounded by . Browning Street, the foot of Shakespeare Road, and the scrub-covered bank below Shakespeare Terrace. Here on a triangular site, the total area of which is nearly two acres, stood the old Post Office (vacated not long before the earthquake) and other Government offices, all of which were destroyed 1 in the upheaval and subsequent conflagration.