LOWE STREET ROUTE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20548, 7 May 1941, Page 10

LOWE STREET ROUTE

WAIKANAE BEACH ACCESS STATION YARD CLOSING I alternative discussed l j The question of accost; to the eastern And of the Wuikanae Beach, following The desire of the Railways Departnicnt to close the Rowe street loutc. 'which, crosses the railway tracks in ■ the goods yards, was discussed at last 'night's meeting of the Gisborne Borough Council. I In order to clarify the position, the I town clerk, Mr. W. M. Jenkins made an exhaustive search of land transfer plans, and, reporting to the council last night, he stated that Lowe street was a legal- street to the north bank of the Waikanae Stream, and then from the south bank to the junction of Maraetaha road, i.c., the road running between the Waikanae park and the railway cottages. "The land officer of the New Zealand Railways,” the report added, “informs me that on account of interference with railway working it was proposed about 1901 to close Lowe | street through the station yard, but j the proposal was not carried out, a j compromise being made whereby the council agreed that the crossing over the railway should be limited to pedestrian traffic only. Ownership of Bridge "Regarding the footbridge, it appears that in 1904 the Railway Department acquiesced in a proposal that a tootbridge should be permitted over the Waikanae Stream in line with Lowe street. lam unable to find any record of this footbridge on the council’s files, but in 1910 the district engineer, Wellington, in reply to an inquiry slated; ‘This footbridge was built and was maintained by the Gisborne Borough Council, and the Railway Department has no interest in it.’ "I discussed the matter with the chief engineer of the New Zealand Railways on his recent visit to Gisborne, and he informed me that although his department had not yet considered the closing of that portion of Lowe street over which the railway tracks pass it would be extremely dangerous if used by pedestrians in view of the shunting operations carried out in the locality. “The legal position is that the department can close the road provided there is some reasonable alternative access.

“If the council decides to dismantle the bridge and re-erect it on some other site to provide access to the beach I suggest that plans and estimates be prepared and the questiop of cost be then taken up with the Railway Department.” Grey Street CrossingReferring to the Grey street railway crossing, the town clerk added:—“The bituminising of this crossing was discussed with the district engineer, New Zealand Railways, who agreed to accept liability for the cost of sealing the department’s tracks for 28ft., the width of the existing sealed surface of Grey street, plus an additional 12ft. on the east side. This should give ample width for two vehicles and cyclists crossing over the tracks at the same time. The matter of sealing the New Zealand Shipping Company’s tracks has been taken up with the company and its reply is awaited.” The matter of the Lowe street access was referred to the borough engineer, Mr. E. R. Thomas, who was asked to submit plans and estimates for the removal of the bridge. The engineer also was instructed to proceed with the bituminising work on the railway crossing immediately.