MOTOR TRAFFIC IN LAKE COUNTY
(To the Editor.) . Sib, —At the December meeting of the Lake County Council a motion was carried, ' to allow motcr cars to ply—under certain restrictive regulations—on the Lake • County roads. I understand that those regulations are being drafted and are to ■ bo presented to the next meeting of the » Council for approval. Once this approval : is obtained, motor locomotion is legalised ) in our midst. There has been for some i years a by-law prohibiting motor traffic in our County and this by-law was not , rescinded. Whether the Council was , in order or net in passing this motion without rescinding the by-law I do not 3top to enquire; nor do I intend to discuss just now the question whether the Council acted ultrii ciren when it passed the by-law. What I want to do is to direct the attention of the people of the Wakatipu to the menace to life and property that will be placed in their midst by the running of motor cars on our narrow, steep, and precipitous roads; and I shall endeavour to show cause why motor traffic should be prohibited on these roads in Lake County. From the report of the Lake County Council meeting it appears that the chief motive which induced members to consent to the motor car traffic was the advance ment of the district. Well, there is no denying that such motive is a most laudable one. But then would the proposed motor traffic produce such a result ? lam convinced it would not; on the contrary, it would have the opposite effect. If it succeeded or partially succeeded it would put the livery stables out of existence. If it only partially succeeded it would be a greater evil for then there would be no proper means of travelling. Well, to do away with the livery stables would be a very great check to the advauc3ment of the* Wakatipu. *There are 15 or 20 men employed in those stables from yeai's end to year's end. Then the blacksmiths, horseshoers, coachbuilders and harness makers—all shall suffer; many of them must necessarily go down. Their families are dependent on them. Do away with the livery stable 3 and you do away with whole families and hence there shall be a loss of population. Then again the stables are markets lor the sale of farm produce. The chaff and oats consumed in them must find a market in Dunediu or elsewhere. The cost of transit must come out of the pockets of the farmers; and thus the fanners' profits will be materially lessened. The stables are also a market for the sale of horses. The stable-owners are ever and always on the look out to purchase suitable beasts. I think what I have hitherto said can scarcely be gainsaid. Well would such a state of things be for the advancement of ment of the Wakatipu? Any intelligent man will answer No. Well, would motor locomotion increase the tourist traffic? If it v,ould not, the running of motor cars in our county could not advance our district. This is, I think, onu self-evident truth. I am convincod that motor traffic cannct increase the tourist traffic. For this conviction there is no / necessity to give my reasons at present. ' L<»t it be granted that there be no hitch in 'tft£ running of the cars and that from an Accommodation point of view motoring becomes &,.success in the Wakatipu and that a line ot,»ars would ply between here, and Crom cell ft?d here and Wanaka as regularly asov,f present lines of coaches. And what thee* Many reasons persuade me that the increase, if any, in the number of persons travelling from either place to Queenstown would be yery meagre. And the increase to trade fc.om a possible few e»tra individuals would simply mean nothing. But supposing the motor traffic was only irregular and wot»L<] run only random trios, what shall we say? Well it is just as'likely, and it is in my opinion more likely, to foil than to succeed. And in the ease of failure it would, as 1 have said above, deprive us of all proper means of travel.. The motor service would never negotiate the Skippers road. And there would be no livery stables from which tourists eould iiire to take them to Skippers and thus the finest .drive in our district would be lost to travellers. The livery stables once gone, it would be almost impossible to induce people to take up the business again. Hence, I maintain that to introduce motor car locomotion into Lake County would not be pi 'ress but simply retrogression. Well t-en why should we endanger the properties, the'limbs and the lives of our people' Those tfhi advocate the motors .will say is rodi; ed to a minimum by the precautions that are ;<■ be taken." I reply: "You mm f. because of tkstarrowness, thf steepness, ami the precxpitsrsness of w roii-ls-you cennot possil/Iy l'-.U and "«m;pent dangers/- Oui h«.r*w have not Men trains or :..-auuws our motor l>ik« —all of whi<?l, are like introductions and j trainings fo' .acquaintance with the motor car. *'©* cannot get over these combinations *»* sources of imwneat dangers. Wfcy then should we risk our lives or ask ,qthers to do so? Motor locomotion will bo* contribute to the advancenwunent of our district. But even if it did it would not be rifbb ; to ask even one man to sacrifice his hie t<v such a consummation. But motor trafcc -would endanger not on* life only but maty W&-i It would then be a menace to P ro P ertv 'j to limbs and lives and it would retard the I progress of the district. Should tbis line of reasoning commend jtWf to our County Council, would it be expectog too much of that body that at their nef t meeting they rescind the motion they paswd at their llaat? The greatest minds ev.« created : Hbave,, when sufficient cause presented itself,
I Ranged their opinions and their I V>pe *be iLake County Councillors will, if f . " fees««e .convinced that they in tne > . ' n< tike ,use of the motor, -rise -to m*|, with true magnanimity the occasion . <■ 4 ; r i ast awe ting.--I undo what they en,. am, etc., ' J. F. . ~ Queenstowu, January 2nd, 19±. ■» _ (To the Editor.) J
Sir.—After reading the account of the motor car discussion in last week's "Mail" and finding that the motion was carried for motor cars to run on the pronibited parts of the Lake County roads, I beg to ask for a small space of your valuable -.iper to ask if there are not any per? is in the district possessed with power to prevent motor cars coming into this part of the County owing to the dangerous roads. We hear a good deal about New Zealand bein« a free country. Where does it come in when the votes of five persons have power to bring motor cars into the district which will endanger the lives of the inhabitants. There are some parts of the roads where it takes two vehicles all their time to pass with safety. How will it be then if a horse or horses take fright when approaching a motor car at these narrow places ? Theie will be no get away from an accident, and are we ratepayers to run the risk of broken limbs to please a few tourists. All agree that the horse is a sensible creature, but when it comes to meeting a strange object in a bad place its common sense leaves it and its frightened nerves get the upper hand. So I urge any person that has power, to use it in preventing motor cars from travelling on the prohibited County roads for the sake of the lives of the people.—l am, etc., Inter estkd.
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Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2951, 5 January 1912, Page 5
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1,307MOTOR TRAFFIC IN LAKE COUNTY Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2951, 5 January 1912, Page 5
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