MAIN ARTERIAL ROADS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 156, 30 June 1914, Page 9

MAIN ARTERIAL ROADS

MAINTENANCE ' QUESTION. WESSONS ' FEOM AUSTRALIA; MB. C. J. PARR'S CONCLUSIONS. Sta Mayor of Auckland (Mr. C. J. Parr, C31.G.), intends to move energetically in the direction of bringing about an improvement in the condition of tho main arterial roads. In the course of an interview yesterday, the Mayor gave some interesting particulars as to the systom of maintaining these roads in Victoria. He also referred to Greater Sydney, and the main roads question, anu to the practice of tree-planting in tho Australian cities. Tho Mayor raid that, in its treatment of the main roads question, Victoria was a decade ahead of New Zealand. Tho Subsidy system there had proved quite un-

satisfactory. " Mr. Watt," ho continued,

"the ablest Premier in Australia, three years ago had an Act passed, establishing a Country Road Board. The board consist* of two experienced engineers and a public accountant. 'Ibe duty of this body is first to examine all roads and divido them into classes. They submit to the local Authorities concerned plans showing the roads they classify as national roads. Cm local authorities have the right of appeal to the Minister if they so desireAs won as a road is gazetted as a national, main, or developmental thoroughfare, then the responsibility of the now Country Road Board begins. The principle is that the board shall pay half the cost of construction and maintenance, whilo the local authorities shall pay the other half. Tho general Government has provided this new beard with a liberal finance, and the board is authorised to spend £2,000,000 on main roads of the State.

•'The money," ho continued, "required by the local authorities to pay their half of main road expenses is loaned to them by tho Government at 6 per cent., being 4$ per cent, for interest, and 1J per cent, for tinking fnoii. By such a system the loan is repaid in 50 years. "Now," proceeded the Mayor, "if Victoria can find two million pounds for ite rosin roads, one naturally asks why New Zealand cannot afford to do the* samo. Victoria regards good roads as being as essential as railways, and this is the proper policy. Just imagine what it would mean to tho Province oi Auckland if haJf-a-million pounds were spent on its main reads. Why, the country would boom apin. There is no more pressing public work in the Dominion. Victoria's experience Is a useful object, lesson. Three thousand miles of road in Victoria have already been proclaimed and brought under the contrul of the Country Road Board.

Greater Sydney Advantages. " Within the next fow months," said tie Mavor, "a Greater Sydney will be an accomplished fact. Mr. Holman's Government has given notice of a Bill this session which will bring about the union of all the suburban boroughs with tho mother city. Thus by Parliamentary compulsion no less than 53, suburban boroughs and sbires will be wined out and brought into the city area. The reason given by the Government for this drastic step is tnat the various suburbs have failed in their essentia] purpose of maintaining the i main roads leading from the city to the j cocitrv. Apply this test to Auckland suburban bodies, and I imagine most of them would havo to gd out of business. I instance Eden Terrace and the New North Road ti a case in point. "At first," he went era. "16 thickly populated boroughs close to Sydney are to be absorbed, and little by little the surviving 30 districts. will be automatically merged in the central authority. Although the territorial area is thus circumscribed at first, the mother city wDJ throughout' the whole suburban area of the 53 bodies have con'Tol over main roads, health, and town-r!smning. Thus by a sort of process' of evolution over 300 square miles are ! to be absorbed. v " The new Bill has one feature which, I think, is objectionable. - It provides for the navment of aldermen and councillors. This step will lead to professional .aldermen. It is pretty certain that Parliament will throw out this section. Tho Government proposes to help the city to make and maintain the main roads—indeed, already the general Government assists to keen the main roads in order, as' witness tie Parramatta Road. This is a line of action which in New Zealand the Govern- ! ment might well imitate. In Australia, furthermore, motorists have agreed that they should be taxed, cither on petrol used or on horse-power, the tax to be ear-marked for the maintenance of main roads."

Tree-Planting la the Streets.

The auction of tree-planting was also referred to by the Mayor. " Tree-plantine in tie cities," he said. " receives much more attention in Australia than with us. In Melbourne, a city of wide streets, they are <?oine in largely for planting trees in little islands down the centre of the streets. Thus tbev eet shade, and the trees act as a breakwind, and are a groat factor in keeping down dust, while the eentrbJ nJanting adds much to the appearance of the street. This treatment might well hate been applied to Grafton Road. I think if v?« had .kept the footpaths about half the usual width and reserved tho centre of the street for an avenue of trees we could have made an even finer street of ft than it is. In Ballarat thev have planted 54 miles out of a total of 120 miles of t&eets. Auckland needs to get a move to in this respect. " Anothw noticeable feature in tho Aw, kalian cities is the leaving of an open epa« around each tree. Nowhere did T cee the footnath tar and sand bronirhf dose up to the tree. Room has been left for the sun and air to ret to tho rooks. I a costeord the other day from Mr. T. W. Leys, from Vienna, and he remarked on the same thing."