“HAD HE KNOWN”

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 59, Issue 4286, 31 May 1950, Page 8

“HAD HE KNOWN”

NEW CLASSIFICATION COROMANDEL ROADS COUNCILLORS CHANGED IDEAS If he had known at the April meeting of the Coromandel County Council as much as he did now about the classification of the county roads he would never have agreed to the roads 'being classed as No. IV standard, stated <Cr. A. J. Denize at the May meeting of the council. Considerable discussion followed the reading of a further letter from the Transport Department, Wellington, dealing with the new classification which would come into operation on June 1.

“Its a farce,” declared Cr. Denize, “and we should challenge the State highway being in class 111, which has forced us into class IV. Where a consignment of manure could be carted in one load, now under these new classifications it will take two trips. It is going to cost the farmer nearly double,” said Cr. Denize. 'Cr. T. V. Whittle: “Reclassification of roads is only a blind to put dust in peoples’ eyes, to blind them to the obvious fact that the maintenance to roads is not going to be done. Therefore it must be done by classification. The roads all over New Zealand were never built to stand up to present day traffic and heavy loads, and if the money is not forthcoming to maintain them the only way out is to reduce the loads carried on them and this will be totally uneconomic both for the farmers and the contractors.” “If the loads are restricted the heavy traffic licenses will be reduced and we lose. If speed is restricted then we pay on a time basis. In other words, this is all to make a better surface road for private cars and non-paying traffic and allow them to travel at a higher speed,” said Cr. S. H. Le Roy-Dyson.

The county chairman, Cr. E. Deeble, z said that a resolution was passed at the previous meeting that the roads would ‘be class IV, so now it was up to members to lodge objections. The general feeling of the council seemed to be that objection Should be made at the State roads being put into class HI which had left the council no option but go into class IV.