CITY IMPROVEMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15518, 28 January 1914, Page 10

CITY IMPROVEMENTS.

THE TRAFFIC PROBLEM.

OUTLET WITH EASY GRADE.

JERMYN STREET SCHEME.

WIDENING BEACH ROAD.

THE MAYOR'S PROPOSALS.

Two important street-improvement schemes II were commended to the City Council at a & special meeting, held last night, by the Mayor (Mr. C. J. Parr), who, in introducit ing the matter, said that it pressed : . urgently for the council's attention. For 1, one thing, he said. Beach Road must be J widened without delay and paved, while " the other clamant need was the provision of another main outlet to carry the heavy traffic from the lower to the higher levels i- of the city. n Beach Road, although barely a chain n wide, carried perhaps the heaviest traffic ° of any city street, Mr. Parr went on. It > was -the main artery eastward from the •t city. Two lines of trams mode matters >f worse. The placing of the new railway jo goods station at Mechanics' Bay was going la to increase thus congestion. It was im- " perative that a further 20ft should be ie added to the width of this street. This would make a new street 86ft wide, which was about the right width. A street 100 ft wide cost too much in upkeep, and was often unnecessarily wide. The council must take this added width for Beach Road from the owners on the south side, because the Railway Department could not spare , r an inch on the north side. Roughly, the length of Beach Road to be widened was e about 1700 ft, and it would extend from a Customs Street to Constitution Hill. Ht ;. put the claims for compensation for tiis 15ft strip at £18,000. d Proposed Outlet via Jermyn Street. e "A most pressing problem is the finding of another route from the Customs Street, ™ Quay Street, and Beach Road levels to the a higher levels of the city," proceeded the L Mayor. " Let us briefly examine the existing traffic conditions. Mors than half of j the whole city traffic (vehicular) pours , daily in and out of the city via Symonds s Street. The business of the populous b districts of Mount Eden, Mount Roskill, Eden Terrace, Mount Albert, Morningside, , Avondale, Newmarket, Epsom, Onehunga ' iby way of Khyber Pass and Grafton l Bridge) all drains into the city by this route, and this district is still expanding towards Edendale and the Three Kings. It is no exaggeration to Bay that 40,000 people are thus served by the Symonds Street route. " At present some of this traffic finds its way from Symonds Street down Queen Street to the seafront, but the heavy and slower vehicles nearly all take a roundabout route by Karangahape Road, Pitt Street, Hobson Street, Federal Street, and Albert Street to the wharves and Lower Queen Street. They take this route because it is the easiest grade, Wellestey, , Street being, too steep. The heavy loads from the wharves nearly all take this round-about read the city engineer has found as tho result of careful observation. Manifestly the result of all this is great loss of time. Also, it throwis into Hobson. Street, Queen Street, etc. (which are already sufficiently taxed) a grsat amount of wheeled traffic, for which we should provide a more direct route. 1 "If we could manage to send this great 1 and increasing Symonds Street traffic , straight down Symonds Street, past the i Choral Hall, and Supreme Court (where . Symonds Street ends) down direct to ■ Beach Road and Customs Street, we ' would save much time and money, and if i heavy loads for Mount Eden. Mount Ali bert, Kingsland, and the New North Road, etc., could be brought straight by , this connecting street from the wharves , and warehouses to Syiaonds Street by the , easiest grade out of the city (avoiding , Hobson Street, Queen Street,' etc.), who . can doubt the great public benefit there- , from ? For two years past I have sought , for the best route whereby to make this , outlet. As the result, lam reinforced in j my belief that Jermyn Street offers the best, indeed, the only practicable solution of the problem. • Advantages of Suggested Route. i "In the first place," proceeded the ] Mayor, "you have an existing street « "ermyn Street) 30f<; wide to work \ upon. So much, at least, is saved in £ compensation. Next, you can get here < the easiest grade from the lower to the £ higher levels. The city engineer (Mr. W. i E. Bush) says he can get, via Jermyn i Street, a grade of 1 in 24, which is ] much easier than Hobson, Albert, or 5 Wellesley Streets. It would be the best I grade from the city. Again, the Jermyn i Street quarter, although only a few a minifies from Queen Street, is a dead end. It needs transforming. It consists, with a c few exceptions, of very old tumble-down houses, which will soon require replacing with brick structures. The time is, therefore, opportune, before permanent structures are erected, and the character of the s district is settled, to acquire the necessary * land for a fine new road. You can c thereby effect a most necessaiy piece of 6 town improvement. A fine now street * driven through this quarter would become c the best and most used thoroughfare out I of town for half -the people of Greater c Auckland. r "I do not deny the necessity of an- . other outlet, some day; via Parnell, 1 ' said V Mr. Parr. " That will have to come, and ? will serve Newmarket Rernuera, and ~ Epsom. But a Parnell outlet is plainly of no use at all to the great traffic i? which pours in and out from Symonds -, Street and the Grafton Bridge, and which caters for a district extending from New- g market and Epsom on the east, to Mount v Albert and Avondale on the west. A s ' Parnell route cannot be put in competi- ° tivn with this one, because each would " serve different and independent localities. ° "Another feature of advantage in the Jermyn Street connection lies in * the fact that by running the trams down " Jermyn Street and up Queen Street you a will provide a tram circuit, and largely dc away with the present congestion in ? Lower Queen Street, where the trams all run to a blind end." w

Financial Side ol the Question. Continuing, the Mayor said that so im pressed had he been for some time with the advantages of the Jermvn Street route that he would have brought it before the council for its approval a year apo but for the question of finance." ' ' At the council's request, nearly 12 months ago, he approached various owners in Jermyn Street in friendly conference and pointed out to them that the now street would at least double the v a ] uea of their property, and begged them to meet the council reasonably in the matter of giving a portion of their lands for the new street. In one or two instances he was met in the fairest possible spirit. But in the majority of cases he 'soon learnt the owners would expect large compensation for the land required for widening purposes. In many cases sums mentioned for a few feet of land wTiicTi were, -in his opinion, ridiculously exorbitant. J '

As the result of this conference with the j owners, he estimated their claims for comi Eensation at about £30,000. For this large sum of money the council was to receive a portion of their land only, varying in depth from 10ft to 12ft. This seemed to him too stiff a price to pay even for a big city improvement, and for months past he had been working upon some cheaper method' of purchase. Since then, he had had careful valuations made of the whole property on each side of Jermyn Street. He now offered the council and the citizens a proposal which had

for its object, by one ana the same operation, not only a new Jermyn Street outlet, but also the widening of Beach Road. Definite Proposal Outlined. "I propose that the city should acquire at once, under the Public Works Act, not parts or portions of various properties, . but the whole territory lying between Jermyn Street and Beach Road," said the Mayor. "There is an average width between the two streets of about 200 ft, which is just sufficient to give good allotments to each street. I suggest that, after acquiring the various properties in this way, the old buildings should be sold for removal, and the high ground at the farther end of Beach Road, excavated to street level. Beach Road could thus be widened and paved, the new Jermyn Street could be made, and the properties between, cut up into suitable sections, and sold to the highest bidder. "In the 6ame way four or five old houses on.the South side of Jermyn Street should be acquired, cleared off, and the land resold. I am satisfied that the new frontages in Jermyn Street, in many cases, would sell for three times as much as you would have to pay for them as they stand. The effect of your improvements would be to transform the whole quarter—largely a slum area— first-class warehouse and business sites. The new Beach Road frontages being close to the- railway station and the wharves, would be excavated to street level, and would command ready and immediate sale. The excavated spoil could be used for reclamation. The new Jermyn Street frontages, situated as they would be on a fine new street, instead of as at present facing a winding, narrow, and unsightly lane, would also be the subject of keen competition. "As an alternative to selling the land, you might, if you prefer it, retain the whole area as a city endowment, and grant long building leases over it. The rents would even now nearly pay interest, and in years to come it would be a remarkably valuable asset. Legal Aspect Discussed. j "-A- to the legal aspect, I am advised that we have power to carry out the scheme under Section 32 of the Public Works Act," the Mayor remarked, "and we should not require special enabling legislation. We. can go straight ahead if thought fit. "As the residents of Upper Short Street and Eden Street would receive a much better outlet than they now have, it would be quite possible to" close Lower Short and Eden Streets and (as they would not be required), sell the area closed, which has in all 264 ft frontage to Beach Road, and Jermyn Street. I estimate the value of the streets to be closed at £17,000, and I think there would be no difficulty in celling the area for this figure. It is obvious, I hope, that this scheme has a good deal to recommend it. "In the first place, without cramping your road scheme, you can get all the land you want for widening both streets, and without paying large compensation. In the second place, the municipality, and not the private owner, is going to reap the benefit of the great betterment that will indisputably accrue to this quarter as a result of the city's work. I am satisfied that the city may not only acquire the necessary land for the roads in this way free of all cost, but can reasonably hope from the profits of resale for a large contribution towards the cost of making and widening these thoroughfares. £30,000 Loan Money Required. "The cost of the actual road work in Beach Road is £16,000, and of Jermyn Street £30,000; that is, £46,000 in all," said Mr. Parr. " Upon the figures placed before me by a responsible land valuer the whole cost of making the new Jermyn Street will be recouped to the citizens from the profits of resale. Another reputable agent whom 1 have consulted is also of opinion that (given a businesslike handling of the subject) the city may widen Beach Road so as to make it 86ft at least, and at the same time acquire the finest heavy-traffic outlet, via Jermyn Street, from the city free of cost to the citizens- The figures supplied me allow £130,000 for compensation and £175,000 for resales, leaving £45,000 profit towards road operations. , If you should think differently from me after investigation, I suggest that if you desire to be on' the safe side, take a vote for a loan of £30,000, to include both these works.- This would provide a margin of safety upon which you could draw should the resales not be as satisfactory as I expect. I do not think, however, you would require a penny of loan money to effect this work. But even if the citizens can get these good things for £30,000t-the amount of the suggested loan— will be doing excellent business. After conferring with the city treasurer and our banker, I can assure you that there will be no difficulty in arranging the temporary accommodation required pending the resales of the improved area. Proposed Investigating Committee. "I am prepared to submit details and figures to a committee which you may set up, believing, as I do, they will fully establish my present contention. I would suggest, so that we may be entirely assured that we are moving on sound lines, that you should ask the co-operation and assistance of an independent committee of five or seven well-known business men of the community. Let these gentlemen also examine my proposals and pronounce their verdict. If they be favourable to the scheme, it will strengthen your hands in the work that lies ahead. If, on the other hand, they 'turn it down,' then we shall have done our best, and shall, in a measure, be free from any future suggestion that we missed the opportunity. ' Some Objections Anticipated. It might save time if he anticipated some of the objections that were sure to be raised, Mr. Parr added. Firstly, the council might rely that there might be some opposition from some of the 20 owners that were involved, who might see a good chance of losing the betterment which he proposed should go to the city. The council's answer to them was that they must receive full compensation. Secondly, conservative critics might say it sounded all very well, but it was altogether " too big " a thing. His answer to this class of objector was that the day of 'small things" for Auckland City was, lie hoped, gone. It was no longer a village, [n 15 years it had doubled its population. is capital value, and its exports, and had ;rown to have a population of 110,000. It eras fairly safe to predict that with the settlement of the waste and native lands )f this great province, the projection of lew railways north and'south, and the >pening of new markets in Canada and the Jnited States, Auckland would do at least is well in the next 15 years as it had done n the past 15 years. His point was that i large future must be planned for. Great as the need of these improvements vas to-day, the necessity would become lesperate in years to come. Nor could the vork ever be done cheaper than at the >resent moment. Now was the time, be-

fore now buildings went up, and values here took on further increase. Because he believed after two years of investigation that lie offered now the best practicable scheme for the city, the Mayor invited criticism not only from the council but also from the citizens. Consideration of the joint scheme was adjourned until Tuesday night next, when it will be discussed at a special meeting to be held for the purpose.