The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1928. BETTER ROADS.

Evening Star, Issue 19773, 25 January 1928, Page 6

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1928. BETTER ROADS.

The meeting of representatives of Otago bodies with the Main Highways Board in Dunedin yesterday ended better than it began. It began with grievances. It ended with now hopes. Tho grievances were inevitable. It was idle for a representative of tho hoard to blame criticisms made by local bodies and tho Press for an unwillingness to co-oporatc with it shown by some counties. Distrust was bound to be felt of the new highways administration in face of the much greater expenditure in the North Island, as compared with the South; the diversion of a large sum from the revenue to the construction account, which does not need to bo expended in proportion to tho registrations as- between the islands; and the refusal to extend, by statute, in the case of the new petrol tax, a safeguard of fair treatment te tho South Island which is provided in tho original Act. Otago motorists have had special cause to believe that they wore nut getting the benefits of a fair share of the money which they provided when they viewed the condition of their roads. It may be a consolation to local pride to be told, in opposition to a widely-prevalent opinion, that those are not tho worst in New Zealand, but it is not of much value to local tyres. That was not all the satisfaction, however, that was obtained by delegates who attended yesterday’s conference. It was admitted by the chairman of tho Highways Board that the Otago main highways are bad. A need was therefore recognised for improvement, and it can 1)9 hoped that the obstacles to improvement will be fewer in the future than they have been in the past. The indication that the Dnn-edin-Port Chalmers road will be declared a main highway must be gratifying to users of the road. Mr Eurkert stated that there was no danger of tho money transferred to tho construction account being lost to the South Island. An encouraging sign was the reception by the board of Mr Anscll’s suggestion that the board should take over the work of reconstruction and maintenance of Otago highways on the basis of annual contributions towards the cost from the counties concerned. The board would be in a position to purchase the necessary plant, and have trained gangs of men, so that shovel and wheelbarrow methods would he avoided and tho motorists’ money spent to tho best advantage. This plan would also obviate tho necessity for the counties to raise loans, which makes a difficulty at the present time. Mr Eurkert said that this was quite a practicable scheme, and favorable consideration would be given to it. That the counties will be generally well disposed towards it is suggested by tho experience of the Otago Motor Club when its scheme for the improvement of the road from Palmerston to Clarksville was put forward. All tho councils were prepared to make special payments if the work was done entirely by the hoard. Mr Ansell’s scheme was evidently in Mr Furkert’s mind in his discussion later with the representatives of tho Taieri County Council. Mr Furkert asked how much the county was prepared to pay for a road.

Mr Blair said that the ratepayers would not sanction a loan. Mr Furkert: Perhaps you could make some annual payment that would amount to the same thing. Mr Blair said that the county would pay its share if the board could find a way of financing it. Mr Furkert said that the matter would have to be considered. There seemed to be an inherent dislike in the south of New Zealand to loans, but there was no doubt that special circumstances obtained in the Less encouraging was the attitude presented by the chairman of the Waikounifci County Council. Mr Preston stated that from a county point of view the road from Waikouaiti to Palmerston was useless. Only about fifteen ratepayers owned motor cars and used the road at all. As long as the railway line was kept open the others would not care if the road was wiped out of existence. But surely that is an individual view of the conditions in Waikouaiti. The board has given good treatment to that county, taking over entirely the road from the city boundary to Waitati, and bearing the whole cost of its reconstruction and maintenance, and it might well have been met in a more conciliatory spirit.