THE COURTENAY ROAD BOARD

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12423, 12 February 1901, Page 6

THE COURTENAY ROAD BOARD

TO TUB EDHOB. Sir,—l notice from an unsigned advertisement, appearing in the "Times" on Feb. 1, that the. Courtenay Road Board proposes to'place restrictions on traction engines travelling in that district, and to actually prohibit their using the roads/luring certain months. I was . always under the impression that the public roads were primarily intended for the use of all kinds of vehicular traffic, and although the Legislature gave local bodies certain powers to''regulate traffic, surely it was never contemplated that they would make such tyrannous use of that power as is proposed. If the ratepayers, without protest, submit to the proposals of .the Board, they will have themselves to blame if that body proceeds a step further, and -places a law on other classes of vehicles, say on bicycles or perambulators. The published notification reveals beautiful inconsistency on the part of the Board, inasmuch as it states that it is proposed to charge (1) " A yearly licence fee on any traction engine," etc.; and (2) " That traffic shall cease during the whole of the months of June, July,°August and September.'' From this it is manifest that the Board is prepared to extort a yearly fee for permission to use the roads for eight months. Whether traction engine tuaftic is particularly injurious to the roads is an open question, but there can be no doubt as to the injury to traction engines caused by badly formed road:-, covered with boulders of formidable dimensions, such as are to be seen in various parts of the- Courtenay district. A road board's chief aim should be to facilitate traffic, to render the roads passable, and to remove obstructions. In no way should a public body harass legitimate enterprise, by placing an embargo on certain kinds of wheeled trallic—l am., etc, D. M. L. West Melton, Feb. 7, 1901.