ROUGING BURDEN

Evening Star, Issue 20538, 17 July 1930, Page 14

ROUGING BURDEN

NEARLY £8,000,000 A YEAR .RURAL ROAD CLASSIFICATION NEEDED [From Our Paeuamentakv Reporter.] WELLINGTON, July 17. .The necessity for a comprehensive and reasonable classification of the rural roads of New Zealand was emphasised by the Hon. W. B. Taverner (Minister of Transport) in an interview with your correspondent to-day, in view of the fact, established as the result of a special investigation, that the country’s annual road bill is between £7,000,000 and £8,000,000. Mr Taverner expressed the opinion that such a classification would have the effect of reducing maintenance and construction costs, at the same time making ample provision for all reasonable traffic requirements. “ 1 have communicated with about forty county councils in the South Island, seeking their co-operation_ in securing uniform road classification, and urging that prompt action be taken, where it may be possible to do so,” bo said “Of over 20.000 miles of rural roads in the South Island, more than 18,000 miles are either unclassified or are classified as first class. That is, over 90 per cent, of the roads are open for gross loads up to ton tons. When it is remembered that, of the 8,200 motor trucks registered in the South Island, only 147 or 1.8 per cent, are registered for this gross load, it will be seen how much in excess of traffic requirements the road facilities are. If this state of affairs is allowed to continue it is only reasonable to assume that it will engender heavier and heavier traffic, and with heavier traffic units maintenance and construction costs will immediately show a proportionate rise. The county ratepayer, the motorist, and the general taxpayer are ail being subjected to an over-increasing burden in the form of,increased rates, the petrol tax, heavy traffic fees, arid increased taxes to meet the increasing cost of road maintenance and construction, and it is essential that every reasonable and economic effort be made to keep road maintenance and construction costs ns low as possible. .The classification of roads is considered under the three following heads; —The loads a road is capable of carrying; the transport requirements of the areas served by road; other transport facilities available, such as railways, etc.”