THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1921. A NEW ROADING POLICY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17845, 28 July 1921, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1921. A NEW ROADING POLICY.

It is impossible to formulate a perfect roading policy for a country .at Jiew Zealand's stage of developj ment. It is not even easy to define ; one which combines approximate , justice with efficiency. It is, however, possible to outline a system which will give far better results than the present division and overlapping of control, and this is what the Minister for Public Works has done in the statement published this morning. So many of his pre- | decessors have shirked this issue, ■ so many Governments have given up the roading problem as insoluble, that any honest attempt at a reform of methods would be deserving of praise apart altogether j from its merits. If Mr. Coates had done no more than open up the question for discussion and criticism he would have accomplished more j than his predecessors. He has, in I point of fact, presented a specific j scheme which in its over-riding ; principles is sound. Some aspects are controversial, and much of the | detail which will be revealed by the . Bill, and is essential to considered judgment, is still lacking. But the salient features of Mr. Coates' plan are likely to escape challenge. He argues that local bodies, with the exception of boroughs, should be relieved of the obligation to maintain national roads in a condition suitable for motor traffic. These roads will become the concern of the State and the finances of local bodies will be correspondingly enlarged for the care 6f the side roads. The improvement— to a great extent this means the .reconstruction— of the arterial thoroughfares will cost a_ considerable sum, but in the meantime it will eliminate the chronic waste which results from local authorities attempting to patch roads, which have * outlived their usefulness and in th% long run it? promises substantial savings in maintenance.

j The national highways will for a I start be limited to two in the North jlsland and two in the South. This ] cautious development of policy is dictated by financial considerations. The thoroughfares Mr. Coates selects i for immediate nationalisation include a north-to-south highway in each island. That of the North Island, running from Kaitaia to Wellington, embraces the main line of eommunication between Helensville and Hamilton, which has so long been the despair of-local bodies and the neglect of which virtually isolates the City of Auckland during the winter months. This road will in its northern extremity provide at least one dependable communication for 'the North Auckland peninsula, it will penetrate the King Country, and it will forge a new link between Auckland and Taranaki, though at the cost, it must be noted, of following a circuitous route to Wellington and leaving the centre of the. North Inland without a guaranteed thoroughfare. The Wellington-Gis-borae road will temporarily serve as a substitute for the most difficult of the uncompleted sections of the East Coast Railway, but it is greatly to be regretted that the Minister does not contemplate the immediate construction of a good road between Auckland and the East Coast, via Rotorua. This route is so important both to national development and to ! tourist traffic, it i s at the present ! time so indifferently roaded, and the | resources of the local bodies are so inadequate to its improvement, that :the omission of an Auckland-East j Coast road from the first stage of ! the national programme must be rejgarded as a cardinal blunder, The administration of the State roads by ! an independent, expert board, will j be a wise feature of the Minister's j plan, provided it does not substitute i for political influence a bureaucratic i indifference to the necessity of good roads running east and west as well as north and south to Wellington. Finance lies at the centre of the reading problem, and it is on this score that the Minister's proposals will be most critically examined. He enunciates the principle that the cost of the national highways should be divided between the State and those who demand and require a better surface than local authorities can ordinarily provide. Motorists are fully prepared to tax them- | selves for the luxury, if such it can j bo called, of good roads. The j Minister proposes that they should I contribute to the roading fund ! through a tyre tax and license fees. j The former, representing the most I equitable levy on the use of the 1 roads, is the instrument of taxation | motorists have preferred. There will j be some surprise that the Minister j contemplates an additional levy on ! the mere possession of a motor | vehicle, but until the dimensions of j the tyre tax and license fees are j defined comment must be reserved ; It will be noted that the Minister j proposes no discrimination i n favour ! of commerciaJ motor vehicles It [would be difficult to establish such

discrimination, and though the taxation of the motor-lorry leads logically to the taxation of the horsedrawn lorry, Mr. Coates has not allowed himself to be obsessed by such niceties. There is a logical flaw in almost every scheme of motor taxation and in this, as in the other elements of his programme, Mr. Coates ,has preferred simplicity to subtlety. It is on a very much broader grouna that his financial proposals demand most serious consideration. Mr. Coates proposes that boroughs should continue to maintain the national roads within their territories ; on the other hand, he relieves all other local bodies of any liability for the State highways. Two conflicting principles are here advanced, and though each has its merits it is improbable that either will wholly meet New Zealand conditions. There are cities and towns well able to portion of a national road; there are county councils and road boards so weak financially that they require all their resources for their side roads. On* the other hand, there are small boroughs, which will with difficulty meet the obligation imposed on them by the Minister's scheme, and rural authorities which can well afford to contribute to the cost of main roads. The present expression of Ministerial policy appears to place a heavy burden on many small towns and will certainly check the formation of boroughs, whether that be an advantage or a disadvantage. Contrariwise, it deals very generously with county councils and road boards, "whose valuations will be appreciated by the gift of good roads and whose ratepayers will benefit through the use of the national highway for local traffic In theory there is no reason why local bodies should not contribute to the reading fund to the extent to which their finances are relieved by the nationalisation of main roads. As such a contribution would lighten the demand on the general taxpayer and enable the case of the smaller boroughs to be reconsidered it is probable that in this respect the Minister's outline will be modified.