PEDESTRIAN GROSSINGS.

Evening Star, Issue 22805, 13 November 1937, Page 14

PEDESTRIAN GROSSINGS.

It is clear that Dunedin lias not yet mastered the delicate art of achieving co-operation at street crossings. On the one hand, pedestrians, chiefly in whoso interests the white lines were laid down, are not inclined to place complete faith in these safety avenues. For the most part they eye oncoming motorists with the greatest distrust and with a hesitant “ after you, I think ” expression, which in turn causes confusion in the minds of drivers. Some motorists, on the other hand, seem to be unaware of the significance of the white lines; or if they are, their conscience is untroubled and serene. They blow their horn as usual and pass through. Both from this point of view and because the lines, at many intersections, are allowed to become too faint to be of any practical use, the position at present is distinctly dangerous. It is little comfort to pedestrians to know that if they are knocked down while negotiating the “ safety ” crossings they will be on the right side if legal proceedings eventuate. It is also unfair to place on motorists the responsibility of treating with respect a pedestrian lane that is not conspicuously marked. As was indicated at a meeting this week of the executive of the Automobile Association (Otago), an essential to the smooth working of the scheme is that the crossings should be picked out clearly and with the desirable degree of permanence. According to one speaker, the Hore-Belisha method is being only half-copied, and the time has arrived when the entrances to the lanes should also be marked. If this is done drivers of vehicles will receive an adequate warning of their approach to tho recognised pedestrian crossings, and the walkers who wish to reach the opposite side of the street will, in the course of time, gain confidence from the more decisive attitude of the drivers which may reasonably be expected. It is to bo hoped that the South Island. Motor Union, to which the local'association’s resolution on the subject is to be referred, will take tho steps necessary to make the regulations more workable. Some suck scheme has undoubtedly become imperative. The idea is too good to be either dropped or developed halfheartedly. Furthermore, it must be adopted in every New Zealand town where traffic shows the slightest sign of becoming an embarrassment.

Tho continued absence of rain is causing much anxiety amongst the farming community of North Otago. Since early in October no rain has fallen, and tho shortage of green feed is becoming acute. Sheep and lambs are dying rapidly, one farmer at Hildcrthorpe having lost over 150 owes in the last week, while others report a big loss in lambs. Tho wheat crop in parts is ruined. Where the land is inclined to be low-lying the crops are still holding their own, but on tho more exposed areas only brown stubble remains. In many cases the crops have been eaten off by sheep. Farmers have liad to resort to this method rather than lose their entire flocks, especially in the more hilly regions of Ngapara and Tokarahi, where water is being carried, in some instances, for distances of five miles. The usage of water is everywhere restricted, even Oamaru itself adopting these measures.

There are over a million toll calls every month in connection with New Zealand’s telephone system. Business activity is accompanied by greater use of the trunk lines by telephone subscribers, and the volume of traffic during the past six months increased by IL7I per cent., representing no fewer than 717.846 additional calls. _ The commercial telegraphic business is also buoyant, the number of messages handled by the Post Office during the past six months showing an increase of 182.308, or 9.13 per cent, more than the figures for tho corresponding period of last year. The city organist (Dr V. E. Galway) will give an after r church recital in tho Town Hall to-mofrow evening at 8.15. [toms of which special mention might be made are;—‘ Prelude and Fugue in A Minor’ (Bach), ‘Rhapsody in D Major’ (Saint-Saens), ‘Final’ Symphony No. 1 (Vierne), ‘Scherzo !For the Flutes’ (Crawford), this last being performed for the first time at these recitals. Other interesting pieces are ‘Mr Ben Jonson’s Pleasure ’ (Robin Mitford), ‘Largo in G Major’ (Handel), ‘ Pavane ’ (Bernard Johnson), ‘Lullaby’ (Brahms), and ‘ln Springtime’ (Hollins). Dr Galway will lie assisted by the Training College Choral Society, conducted by Mr G. E. Wilkinson, and a string orchestra, under the leadership of Miss Stella, Bayley. The society will sing ‘ The Seekers’ (Dyson), ‘Remember the Poor’ (Irish air), ‘Brother James’s Air ’ (arranged by Jacob); ‘My Love Dwelt in a Northern Land ’ (Elgar) ; polonaise, ‘ Christmas Night ’ (Rimsky Korsakov). There will be no charge for admission.

In his annual report for the year ended March 31, 1936, the secretary (Mr' J, Jacobs), of the Otago Hospital Board, records that the number of beds for general purposes in tho Dunedin Hospital was 256, compared with 227 in the previous year, for children 44 (40), for tuberculosis patients 8 (8), and for isolation 22 (30). The average number of beds occupied a day was 271.9, compared with 268.8 in the previous year. Patients admitted during the year were as follows, those for the previous year being given in parentheses:—General 3,768 (4,147), children 1,151 (730), tuberculosis 18 (26), and infectious diseases 35 (43). Tho deaths numbered 309, compared with 270. The average cost of maintenance for each occupied bed was £199 16s, compared with £193 2s the previous year, and £195 16s the year before. The number of out-patients was 6,818, compared with 5.771, and the number of attendances of out-patients was 49,610, compared with 44,111. Following tho custom usually observed on People’s Day at the Summer. Show of the Otago A. and P. Society, the shops of grocers, butchers, drapers, clothiers, and boot retailers will be closed from noon on Wednesday, November 24.

In his annual report for the year ended March 31, 1936, tho secretary (Mr J. Jacobs), of the Otago Hospital Board, dealing with estimated expenditure, levies, and subsidies, quotes the following figures for tho year, those for the previous year being given in parentheses:—Rateable capital value £28,361,417 (£28,122,836), estimated expenditure £125,917 9s 2d (£111,715 9s); amount levied on local authorities —ordinary expenditure £41,800 Is 4d (£36,049 4s 4d), capital expenditure £12,000 (£7,000); amount claimed by subsidy—ordinary expenditure £49,276 15s 9d (£39,203 10s sd), capital expenditure £IO,OOO (£7,000).

All through tho morning yesterday (says the Christchurch ‘ Press ’) a racegoing and show-visiting crowd totalling at least 60,000 moved in solid front down Lincoln road to Addington. Never in the history of Christchurch have so many people elected to visit Addington at one time. Attendances at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club’s meeting and at the jubilee agricultural and pastoral show were at peak levels, and traffic broke all records.

A mean hoax in connection with the effort to raise £IOO for the Mayoress’s Christmas Cheer Fund has come to light. At a recent community sing conducted by Big Brother Bill in aid of the fund some person promised to donate £5 to the cause, the message being received over the telephone and the name of a well-known business man given. When the organisers of tho sing visited the business man to collect the promised sum they learned that the message was a bogus one. The fund, therefore, is still £0 short of the £IOO aimed at to provide children with Christmas presents. It is hoped by tho committee that some generous citizens will make further contributions to bring tho total to the desired amount.

Hot on the tracks of their quarry, members of the fire brigade were unlucky last night not to apprehend that menace to their activities —the sender of malicious alarms. Hearing tho smashing of glass a resident of the locality approached the alarm box at the corner of Forth and Dundas street at 11.14 last night and inquired from the person leaving it as to the whereabouts of the fire. “I dunno! ” was tho hurried retort as the irresponsible one took to his hoels and disappeared into the bush below the Northern Cemetery. The brigade was immediately on the scene, and with the aid of a civilian in a private car, firemen encircled tho bush and instituted a search. Although they were_ not successful, they have a description of the delinquent, who was possibly associated with the sending of two other malicious calls from the corner of King and Duke streets registered within half-an-hour of the Dundas street one. Following two calls Ifrom one box, tho King street locality was watched for a considerable time last night.

Lack of rain is still causing concern and some inconvenience in a number of localities about Dunedin where the residents are dependent on tank water. In some places tanks are empty, and in other parts the quantity left is so small that it will soon be exhausted if rain does not fall. At Brighton, Karitane, and on the Peninsula supplies are very short. At Fairfield considerable inconvenience has been experienced during the past fortnight, and the difficulty has been overcome in some cases by the carting of water from Green Island. It is proposed to hold a public meeting there in the near future as a preliminary to an effort to have a water supply installed in the district.

“W-F.A.” sends £1 for the St. John Ambulance Fund and £1 for the Chinese Famine Fund. A thorough inspection of the Government houses being erected at Liberton was made this morning by Mr J. A. Lee, Parliamentary Under-Secretary in Charge of Housing. Mr Lee, who was accompanied by Dr C. E. Hercus (dean of the Medical School), Professor Strong (dean of the Home Science School), Dr D. G. M'Millan, M.P., Miss Bowbies (assistant director of the Home Science School), and Mr J. Love (contractor for the scheme), expressed his pleasure at the types of ■houses being erected, and of the magnificent view they command of the city. It is expected that eight of the houses will bo ready for occupation by Christmas. A chimney fire in Begg street was attended to by the Roslyn Brigade at 7.13 last night, and at 10.36 and 10.59 malicious alarms were received from the corner of King and Duke streets. At 11.14 a false alarm from the corner of Dundas and Forth streets called the brigade out again. The Mariposa left Sydney yesterday with 31 bags of Australian mail and the London air mail of October 27 for Dunedin. The air l mail should be to hand on Tuesday afternoon and the ordinary mail on Wednesday evening. The London air mail of October 30 will arrive by the next steamer. Addressed to a member of a concert party which was travelling through New Zealand in 1928, a letter has only recently reached its destination after nine years of roving. The letter was posted from Palmerston North, and the addressee at that time was in Hamilton, but the concert party had moved before its arrival in that town, and apparently kept moving on just ahead of the letter. When the party left for Australia the letter followed, and only this year caught up with the person for whom it was intended. Covered with cancellation marks, the battered envelope has arrived back in Palmerston North as a curiosity.

Notifications of Sunday services as enumerated below appear in cur Sunday services advertising columns: —Anglican; St. Paul’s Cathedral, All Saints’. Presbyterian: First Church, Knox Church, St. Andrew’s, Musselburgh, St. Stephen’s, Itoslyn, Kaikorai, Maori Hill. Methodist: Trinity, Central Mission, Morninglon, St. Kilda, Caverslmm, Dundas Street, Abbotsford. Baptist: Hanover Street, Caversham, Mornington, South Dunedin, Roslyn, Sunshine, North-east Valley, Green Island. Congregational: Moray Place Church, United. Church of Christ: St. Andrew Street, North-east Valley, South Duuedin, York Place Hall. Salyation Army. Playfair Street Hall. Christian Science. Theosophical Society. Spiritualists, Orange Hall. The United Starr-Bowkett Building Society on November 25 will dispose of £2,800 by sale and ballot. The Southern Starr-Bowkett Society announces that it will dispose of £I,OOO by ballot and sale in groups 3 and 5 on Monday, November 15, at the close of the annual meeting of members. Particulars of train arrangements in connection with the Outram Show on November 20 are advertised by the Railway Department in this issue. The Railway Department will run a popular day excursion from Dunedin to Timaru on Sunday, November 21. Particulars of the trains and the special cheap fares are advertised in this issue. Seats may be reserved for both journeys for Is. The annual meeting of the Caledonian Society will he held in the board room on Wednesday next. Tenderers for the milling timber on the water reserve at Sawyers Bay are notified Hint ‘"iiders will be received up to November 29. Kye strain—for eye Comfort, for better vision, consult Sturmei and Watson Ltd., opticians, 2 Octagon, Dunedin. —£AdvtJ