MAIN HIGHWAYS

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 146, 21 June 1924, Page 7

MAIN HIGHWAYS

FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD

POSITION OF LOCAL BODIES

FRESH LEGISLATION NECESSARY.

County councils in all parts of the Dominion are now giving earnest attention to the question of main highways, and it lias become clear that quite a number of amendments in the Act will require to be made at an early period of the session to enable counties to proceed with the main rood work in their districts next summer. It has been found that legislation will have to be passed with regard to the raising of county loans or a general loan by the Government. A uniform set of bylaws for all main roads must be drawn up, giving authority, amongst other things, for the regulation of traffic, weight of vehicles, etc.. Numerous legal points have arisen in regard to various questions relating to the powers of the Main Highways Board and of the local bodies, and these problems will have to be settled by legislation.

An explanation of the powers and proposed operations of the Highways Board has been given by Mr. M. H. Wynyard, Auckland, who is a member of the Main Highways Board. "A LOT OF MISAPPREHENSION."

In the course of an address delivered at. Hamilton on Thursday last, Mr. Wynyard said there was a lot of misapprehension, as to the work and objects of the board, and of its powers. The original intention of the Minister v.'as to define certain main arterial roads through both Islands, with a view to tho Government constructing and maintaining these as a relief to public bodies through whose districts the roads passed. Objections were raised by some local bodies to this proposal, and finally the whole question was discussed by a conference of local bodies and other interests in Wellington, and the present Act was the outcome. One of the first principles of the Act was to extend the length of road at first proposed' to deal with from 2500 to 6000 miles. A working partnership was provided for under (he Act, for while control of the roads would be largely vested in the local bodies, the Government would suhsidise the cost of the construction to the exlent of 50 per cent., and would pay onethird of the cost of maintenance. In certain cases where a road was unmetalled and in the peculiar position of being through poor country, where the rates would fall unduly heavily on the local body ,the Government would gazette this as a Government road and bear the bulk of the cost of construction and maintenance. The board had no power of initiation. Any initiation must come from the local bodies themselves. Up to the present time quite a number of proposals had come in, and it was desirable that all proposals should be put in as early as possible, so as to enable the hoard to make np its estimates. THE BOARD'S FINANCE. At the present time the board's finance was derived from the tire tax first imposed in 1922, tho amount yielded' from which was £280,000. Tho Government would find each year at least £200.GOO for construction work and £35,000 for maintenance. .It was almost a certainty, said tho speaker, that this amount would be increased, as the length of the road originally intended to he dealt with had been extended. The extra amount required by the board was expected to be provided by the Motor Vehicles Bill. Particular provisions of that Bill were the imposition of a license fee on all motor vehicles. The amount would probably be £2 a year registration fee on ordinary motor-cars. According to the Bill, the tax would be spent in each Island according to the number of vehicles in use there. The (Speaker considered there were nearly twice as many motor-cars in the North as in the South Island. In addition to the £2 per car, there would be an annual license fee of 5s per year for drivers. This would be retained by the local body. At present local bodies only received 10s vehicle license fee, which lasted for all time. 'A SPECIAL FUND. Pending the passing of the Bill the Board required some assurance that it would be provided with sufficient funds, and had had that assurance from the Premier. They felt satisfied, I whether the present Government was in power or not, that there was such a strong feeling in favour of giving assistance to the board, that no Government would refuse it adequate funds. The board had authority to borrow £3,----000,000 on security of the tire tax. It was proposed to borrow this in sums of £300,000 a year. Local bodies were expected to send their requirements to their own Cistrict Highways Council, and if approved these would be sent on to the Ijoard. When they had liad their preliminary applications approved they could then make their applications to tho ratepayers for authority to proceed. ' A suggestion had been made that the Government should provide a special fund from which money -for the local body requirements for main highways could be obtained. The construction money which the board would have to work upon would be about £750,000 a year, made up of £300,000 borrowed, £250,000 from local bodies, and at least £200,000 from the Government. HEAVY TRAFFIC. The board had arranged that the Government laboratory would test bitumen and give expert advice on road metal to local bodies. It would also issue certificates to foremen - who had had lengthy experience of high-class road work. The board was also providing a set of skeleton plans and specifications for local bodies to work to. Another point of vital interest was the regulation and licensing of heavy traffic. At present the position regarding this was chaotic. It was in the interests of trans--1 port and tho local bodies that this should be altered, and the board had initiated a scheme for overcoming the difficulty which it was proposed to recommend for legislation. All roads would be classified into one of fo^ir grades—(a) for heavy traffic ; (b) a second classification to carry up to a certain weight; (c) would be a third-class road; and (d) the ordinary farmer's road. Fees would be charged vehicles according to weight and i,ho licenses would have currency over the whole of a highway district, and at the cml of each year Ihc money collected by the local bodies of the specified districts would be pooled and divided. It was proposed that a simple pen carbon record should be kept by all heavy motor owners, and supplied to local bodies monthly. License fees would vary from about £50 to about £10 pel- year, with v certain deduction where puoumatj,- Uies wure used. Special Dei-mils wcmlil h u allowed fuv spm-ial-jy heavy eaiiiuj; of wool. i!;ui!iires, etc. The idea was nut to allow traffic uu a

road with a load which the road was not fit to bear.

MOTOR VEHICLES BILL.

One county had recently taken exception to the proposals of the Motor Vehicles Bill on the grounds that while the rural motor owner did not U3e the main highways so greatly as the town dweller, yet the country owner would be required to pay the same annual tax, while the country dweller had to pay for the roads for the town dweller's use. This county had called a meeting of county representatives in Hamilton to protest against the provisions of the Bill. It must not be forgotten, however, said the speaker, that the country dweller used the town roads free. It was never intended that the board's operations should be applied to borough roads, so that the expenditure of the license fees by the hoard would be. on country roads, although the town dwellers would have to pay a large portion of the cost. If it .were not for the heavy traffic the cost of the roads could be kept down to half. All licenses for heavy traffic and for vehicles plyin^ for hire were under the Bill revenue for the local bodies, and not for the Main Highway Board. The" completion of the main highways scheme was going to reduce freights to country districts, another point which must not be forgotten. Hie money spent on the main highways would relieve the county funds. On the whole he was certain the balance was in tavour of the country settler