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Lyttelton Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 4443, 11 May 1875, Page 2

At a recent meeting of the City Council it was proposed to make ahy-law “ regulating the speed at' which persons shall ride and (hive around the comers of certain streets.” The motion fell through in consequence of the existence of some previous resolution bearing upOnthe matv ter, and we hope, sincerely, that 1 ' it will never be revived. A by-law compelling people to drive at a walking pace, or at a pace of four miles ah hour as was proposed, would be extremely vexatious and would give rise to endless trouble, being one of those artificial' regulations ; which no one can be expected to know anything about. Moreover, the by-law would cause inconvenience of another description. Take for instance the short piece of Colombo street intervening between Hereford 'street and Cathedral square—a locality more specially alluded to by some of the Councillors; vehicles, proceeding from various parts of the cityconverging towards this point would be requested on reaching it to fall into a walking pace; inconsequence thisnarrOw strait would be always choked, and a serious impediment to the traffic would be produced. The multiplication of petty by-laws creating artificial offences is strongly to be deprecated; the police have it in their power to prevent such reckless driving as may be dangerous to the community, and the matter may safely be left to their discretion and to the self preservative instincts of the public. That the question of the necessity of : such a by-law should arise at all, is the beginning of troubles consequent upon the want of foresight exhibited by those who planned the city in making the principal streets only a chain wide. Tt may be said that it is easy enough to prophecy after the event, but there was so much experience to hand of the inconveniences experienced in the cities of the old world in consequence of the narrowness Of main thoroughfares ahd the enormous expenses incurred I in widening them, that we can only wonder that these lessons were ; disregarded. Moreover, the uniform width pf the streets is monotonous and inartistic. The appearance of the City would be greatly enhanced if the main streets—Colombo street, High Sffket, and Hereford street —were a chain and a half, or even two chains, wide. The streets appear sufficiently, spacious as long as they are composed, of one or two storied buildings only, but. when lofty buildings ; of three or four storeys'shall have been built their narrowness will be Apparent, and the opposite sides of the streets will be found to be dangerously near one another in case of fire. We Can. only deplore the existing state of things. It is too late and not late enough to remedy it. Like other cities, we shall have to pay for our experience .before we recognise, its. value, Th ire is at)U time, however, as was pointed mt some thne since by a to repair the evil in the case of the portion of the roadway -to which we have alluded. :! Seven streets tend towards his point, five of them main streets. It is to build a large hotel oh one side, .and the necessarily frequent .stoppage or vehicles opposite an establishment of this description will still further contract the roadway. If, is "decided to locate the public buildmgs in Cathedral square, the traffic will be greatly increased. I This short . piece of street is recognised already as the most dangerous locality in the city, and . if these projects are earned out, j the dafigeif wiu beieridiisly augmented.! A of additional width would:make all the' difference, and now is the £ime to.o'btflhi it or never; We look the Widening of this short thoroughfarie as

being as necessary a work as any of those included in the list submitted by the City Council to the Government. 1 .