The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1918.

Evening Star, Issue 16687, 20 March 1918, Page 4

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1918.

B.Hi question of providing an adequate tramway service for the Mornlngton residents of ■Mornington Tramways. will come before ° the City Council to-night for consideration. It lias to 1,0 admitted ,thafc the counril arid the Tramways Oom*,<mittee have a perplexing difuVitlly to deal •with, and may not be able to tivo general ' satisfaction. They are <-onf routed a J clamant demand for the rer.tr.r.ition 0 f tramway services which were provided -jytder the somewhat " Imppy-go-lucltv" .-"management of the former Roiough Council for over a score of years, particularly '-' in the Maryhill district, which aUo enjoyed '•the distinction (such as it was) n[ possesfsung the steepest cablc-trajmvav xrndie-nt l\ in the world. Had it been less 'btocp there have been more reason to boast of P ' the. line, which in recent year;: has fallen «;infcb disuse owing to its dangeroiw defects. the residents contend that if could obtain reasonably adequate facilities'under separate borough 'ihey should be able, at Clea^t-,-'to secure a similar service under generalised control. It is possible that Iff',.'''

&T lo ? kor ' lsnore tho termß W l'S , ■ ,om - elf SDniccs ™ ro Provided, ■rascal exp erts have ,ot characterised i-„ U ?v rCSults of tho M «»yl»ai and | '-'Stm road lines as sound business. Has it not been officially stated that it took 44 uLTn ? f tho t,otal fr <™ *«» «£? n ° *° pay tho wa S es ot " t' h ° gupman, tl nd that the lino never at any ~° y ielded a clear profit? IW 0 -, l^™™s ' 8 Ooml ™ttee of the City ; V ° giVon to tho Qi-estton of restoring the Maryhill service, , h<W6 obtained an estimate of the c ..,t "i """"Acting tho lino and renewing "6 plant to ensure the establishment of a service, -fliis cost is estimated to run ,„to £4.608 19s 6d-to say nothing « the inevitable extras. The work of re WMtruction would involve the supply of a "JW 'boiler and engine (£2,000) and new vin dmg gear (£400), considerable altera, toon, to the .track (£1,320), and the trans--wl 8 t™ m tJle road tr *<* (£l3l iL L?™ 1 a renowal of tih » slot (£657 W3). These aro the items and the esti"Wed cost, but it does not follow that the -work will ibe done. iiitW^ n ° Wn tkht SeVOral ad ™nistrativo aro opposed m M? ? T , he P r °P° s «l reconstruction of MaryhiU line, but favor a cc-mprehen--vo scheme of alterations, including the lT^ S t \ n ™ ™ d from M «l« street at the head of the High street lino) to Mjn road tte providing , oute..w.Lhout Jts former twist., and turn, ino new scheme would also involve the construction of an electric power station J* Elgin road to provide energy f or tho haulage of cable cars on tho new line I seems that the Maryhill ] iM j s banued aitcgother as a paffing m district it served in the past is not comparable to the Elgin .road district as regnrds scope for extension of settlement. « is further contended that, even if the iormer rate of f ares on the Maryhill line were trebled and the same number of PMsengew guaranteed, the. gervfce would mean a permanent'loss to the City. There has been a suggestion to provide a ternporaay service for the Elgin road district by means of petrol-driven vehicles, which could be constructed in the Dominion: but t'ne demands of the Public Works Department in respect to technical details and conditions have so far smothered the departmental suggestion. It will be seen that the council have a dilhcult question to decide, unless they are willing,, in the face of departmental advice to incur financial loss through reestablishing a service that is held to have 'been a business failure for 30 years. As against low.of revenue from tramways, however, there is the prospect of a sharp in rating revenue from the Maryhill district. Property owners were encouraged to build and improve their property by the fact that the district had adequate tramway connection with the City at reasonable rates. If the district is to lose permanently tho tramway service it had for so long, it follows that there must be a fall in property values in the locality formerly served by the Marvhill line. Then it should be recognised that,the residents supported amalgamation of the borough with the City in the belief that inclusionln Greater Dunedin, under more efficient and more solid control, would improve the tramway facilities of the whole suburb. The council may not feel justified in adopting a patchwork policy that gives no guarantee and holds little prospect of profit or even self-supporting returns. The question should be thoroughly threshed out before any final decision is made. Undoubtedly many residents of Mornington are -.badly provided with tramway facilities as com- , pared with the conditions, they enjoyed a few years ago, and they are entitled to receive tho best consideration it is possible to give them, now that thev have been included in the City and are liable to heavier charges. If it be practicable to restore the Maryhill and Elgin road services at all, the council should not hesitate to go on with the work of reconstruction; hut the bulk of the ratepayers will expect the council to be satisfied that the proposed schemes of subsidiary tramway services; for Mornington would ultimately prove self-support-ing, at the least.