HILL STREET ROUTE

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 45, 21 August 1926, Page 15

HILL STREET ROUTE

VIEWS IN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

The report of the Joint Library Committee upon the Hill street tramway proposal was discussed in the Legislative. Council yesterday.

The chairman of the committeo (the Hon. G. M. Thomson) said that the committee reported that apart from the serious objection to parting with any portion of the Parliamentary site it was unanimously of opinion that if the tramway proposal was carried into effect it would injuriously affect users of the library. Mr. Thomson said the city proposed to take a strip of land in front of the library windows, reduce the grade of the street, and construct a tramway there. The committee naturally objected to such a proposal, feeling that it would very seriously inconvenience users of the library. Wellington trams without exception, he thought, were the noisiest in New Zealand. The Hon. G. J. Garland: "Except Auckland." Mr. Thomson said that the noise in Wellington was probably due to the concrete foundations under the rails. The Hon. W. Earnshaw described the report as crude, ill-digested, and selfish. The City Council, he said, found itself entirely blocked in getting an outlet to the western suburbs. Personally he thought there were difficulties in regard to the Sydney street route, while the Baroa road route was not the most satisfactor3', as it would involve a detour of a mile. It was generally understood that the Government' was willing to make some concession in respect to the cutting in Hill street. The use of the library rooms in no way compared in value with the use of the street outside. The City Council had met the noise objections by agreeing to build on soft foundations instead of upon solid concrete. It would be a bar tt progress if the Hill street project was defeated, and they should take the broad point of view. The Leader of the Council (Sir Heaton Ehodes) suggested that the mover should withdraw his motion and substitute that the report be referred to the Government for consideration. TEe Hon. M. Cohen deprecated the idea of Parliament interfering with public bodies. The mover complied with Sir Heaton Rhodes's suggestion, and the motion was carried.