EAST AND WEST

Evening Post, Volume 32, Issue 32, 6 August 1931, Page 14

EAST AND WEST

RATEPAYERS' STAND

must; go to poll

TRAMS IN ■■ TUNNEL?

. The "Wellingon Ratepayers' Association, a "Post" reporter^ was told by responsible members of that body to-day, will maintain its original stand that the question of the completion of eastern and western access works nv.ist go to the citizens for their opinion. The association 5s by no means sure that citizens desire that trams should run through tho Mount Victoria tunnel, in view of modern transport developments.

In the course of the statement made it was contended that tho policy pursued for so long, and with partial success, by the old council of commencing works by various means not requiring the consent of the ratepayers, was entirely wronpr from the point of view of tho great body of citizens, and sooner or later was bound to lead up to complications, as it did. It appeared that the new council also had inclinations1 in that direction, as was evidenced by the long drawn out negotiations between the Mayor and council and the Government in regard to access works, apparently with a view to avoiding the poll which the Government had already indicated should bo taken. A reintroduction of the methods adopted by the old council would not be at all well received by the citizens, and certainly would not be accepted by the Ratepayers ' Association.PULL TACTS WANTED. Sonic means must be taken to secure the opinion of the citizens, and the matter in which that opinion should be obtained was that asked for in the petition so widely signed some months ago. The association was bound to stand behind the signatories to that petition. It had been said more than once that it was no uso taking a poll, as it was bound to be turned down. The association did not believe that the citizens would turn a proposal'down if they were given the full facts and those facts were convincingly in favour of the work.

A very great deal of the trouble at present"-was due simply to the fact that the ftouncil had adopted the view that it knew better than the public and attempted to dictate to the public. After a" certain point the . citizens became very tired of such methods and a halt was definitely called. Looked at in another way, for the council to say that a, poll was a waste of money as it was certain to be defeated, was in itself the fullest condemnation of the very method which had been advocated by the old council, and was still being advocated by certain members of the present council. A TRAM OR A TRAFFIC TUltinßl,. With regard to the Mount Victoria tunnel, the association had mo wish ,to see so costly a work standing uncompleted, with not a vehicle able to run through it, but members were by no means satisfied that trams -were necessary in the tunnel. An argument iv favour of trams advanced at the council table was that by taking advantage of the obligation upon the tramway department to maintain a large area of roadway between and on either gido of, tho tram tracks the money still available from the old authorisations (and in itself not nearly sufficient) conld be made to complete the tunnel roading. That was not in fact an argument in favour of trams; it was a scheme wherebj tramway money could bo used to coMpleto the essential roadway. Passenger traffic developments had been sucli of recent years, however, that no matter what may have been the opinion in 1920, when tho loan was authorised—a full reconsideration today might easily go against trams through the tunnel. As a,matter of fact, the 1920 loaa schedule made no mention of trams, but simply referred to a tunnel through Mount Victoria. Before any loan question coujd reasonably be laid before ratepayers steps should be taken to place the facts for and against trams plainly and fully before the .public. If there were great advantages in (tramway transportation in this particular instance, then they were known only to the officers of the council; certainly the public had not been told in any convincing manner, nor could councillors who had been approached give such information.' Kevertiug to the question of tho completion of the roadway, it .was stated that the association had reason to bolievo that if full powers were given in regard., to the raising of 10 per Vent, on the approved loan .authorisations availed of, the tunnel flooring could be carried through to provide for vehicular traffic, but there, again, a, frank statement was long ovordue. ' There was no good reason for keeping 'the public in tho dark. WESTERN ACCESS DOUBTS.^ Tacts and figures regarding the western access work had" been sadly wanting from the very first, and, though certain figures had been obtained, they were quit© unintelligible to the public, but disclosed that only by drawing upon electricity and tramways department funds could the finished job be made possible. The fact that such financial jugglery had been considered necessary by the old council was all the more reason why tho public should know exactly what was the position. The steady reluctance on the council's part to make the position clearly known was, on the face of it, evidence that the opinion of the public was feared and was not wanted. The latest development in regard to the western access was that, following the-failure of negotiations aimed at avoiding a poll or the reference of the question to tho Supreme Court, it was announced that tho Government had declined to approve of an alternative routo suggested by the council. Why had not the public been told of this alternative route proposal, not after the negotiations had failed, but before they had been commenced?