HOARDING SEATS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 69, 19 September 1938, Page 11

HOARDING SEATS

BACK TO THE STREET

HAS THE COUNCIL ANY

CONTROL?

A few at a time, the hoarding seats about which there has been a general protest are being concreted into footpaths about the city, and though assurances were given during a recent discussion at the City Council table that a way would be found to reduce the terrible colour clashes —an accumulating assault to the public eye and a fiat denial of Wellington's claim to good taste —nothing has so far been done about it. When the hoarding seatwwats t placed in front of the Government Buildings, with the back towards the street, so that its excuse of being of value to waiting tramway passengers was made ridiculous, such protests were made as would lead to the belief that similar placings would not again be authorised by the city authorities, who presumably have some control over the location and the placing of the seats. However, the same thing has been done in the placing of a particularly "striking"' seat at the corner of Kilbirnie Crescent and Wellington Road. At least the back-to-the-street seat at j the Government Buildings does face a green hedge and the buildings can even be seen through it, but the Kil- | birnie Crescent seat offers a blank view 'of a blank board fence six feet away, with the best advertising side turned to the tram lines. As a resting place the seat is entire^ ly unnecessary, for there is a tramway waiting shed opposite and there are seats in. the Kilbirnie recreation grounds and it is obvious from the back-to-the-street arrangement that the jseat was not x'eally intended to suit tramway passengers. As a disguised hoarding it is, of course, quite a success, and, on top of that, the City Council gains a few pounds for footpath rental.