MAIN ROADS POLICY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17845, 28 July 1921, Page 8

MAIN ROADS POLICY.

UPKEEP BY THE STATE.

GRADUAL DEV&LOPMENT.

PROVISION FOR • FINANCE.

AN ANNUAL SI«ATE GRANT

TYRE DUTY AND FEES. [BY TELKCRA.PH. OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON. Wednesday. I ; n> questii nof arterial road communira' "H has been receiving my attention pvi .-in o I have been Minister for Public Works " said the Hon. J. U. Coates this even-rig. " Several Bills were drafted, each involving local bodies in the administration of the scheme, but I eventually came to the conclusion that thje problem was essentially a national one, involving national control. Therefore, as will be seen in the accompanying statement, which, has received the approval of the Cabinet, f have mado a new departure I'V eliminating the local bodies from the scheme. The Bill has not been printed, bat it will be, prepared for the Government printer exactly on the lines indicated in this statement. Therefore local bodies and all interested in the matter can take this statement as a clear indication of what is proposed. The Bill will simply put the scheme into statutory form."

Tho Minister's statement is as follows : — The development of motor traffic in recent years has greatly altered the conditions of travel and created the necessity for improvement of our main highways. Formerly rapid traffic by land, whether of passengers or goods, was effected solely by means of railway facilities, and the objective in road construction and maintenance was to provide sufficient for horsedrawn wheeled traffic feeding the railways where railways existed, and providing the means of conveyance within and between localities.

Higher Standard; Required. " It has now become clear in all parts r>f the world which are closely inhabited that to a large extent the rapid traffic of the future will bo conducted by motors equipped 'with rubber tyres, and requiring therefore a much higher class of construction and more extensive maintenance of the road surface. The original policy of the. construction of arterial railways must therefore now be supplemented by the construction and maintenance to a higher degree of perfection, of arterial highways. "Railways were, and-with few exceptions still are, constructed and maintained wholly out of Dominica funds, without subvention from local finance. The present exceptions to that rule are that the local bodies are now permitted to construct and maintain out of local finance light railways to feed and supplement the main arterial railw.-jya. The policy to be adopted, as far as is possible for the present, should be upon the same general lines as the policy of roads and railways in the past. Main arterial roads should be* constructed, reconstructed, and maintained by the Domirfion as a whole, while roads of a purely local interest or county interest must be constmcted and maintained wholly, by local body finance, with such assistance from the Government in the way of grants for ■ construction and subsidies for metalling as the financial circumstances of the Dominion will permit. The Toll System Gbsolete. "But in the case oi railways the provision for maintenance and for paying interest upon the cost of construction is made by charges upon those who use the" railway, whether as passengers or for goods traffic, and the same must be the case in regard to the provision of Dominion finance for the construction and maintenance of arte- > rial highways- to enable rapid motor traffic to be conducted.

"One simple method of such "provision would be to establish tolls on the arterial highways for the collection of charges, as the charges are collected at railway stations on railways, and simple method would have the advantage of charging ordinary horse or steam drawn wheeled traffic as well as motor traffic. But the collection by toll of charges for the use of roads is inconvenient, obsolete, and often unfair in its incidence, and must necessarily be rejecfed in any well-consid-ered policy. " Other methods must therefore bes adoptwl to effect the same object, namely, that the class of vehicles and of persons for which and whom the means of rapid traffic are provided should contribute a large proportion of the, cost to the Dominion. It is to be borne in 'mind that existing main road conditions are generally quite adequate for "any form of transport other than" what may be termed 'high speed traffic/ in other words, motor traffic. Kakiag & Gradual Start. " The Government proposes by the Bill to be introduced to provide effective provision for the construction, r-xionstruc-tion, and maintenance of such main roads as may_ be declared arterial highways out of Dominion finance, relieving local finance of all cost, and charge in respect of such arterial highways, and thereby increasing the amount which, out of local finance, the local authorities can provide for the better construction and maintenance of district and county roads, and enable the necessary annual* supply of Dominion funds for the first purpose. But to prevent the policy above defined collapsing in its earliest stages it is essential that the roads to be defined a? main arterial highways during' the first few years of the operation of the Act should be strictly limited in extent Therefore many roads which it is believed will ultimately come within the definition "of main arterial highways and bs transferred from local burden to Dominion finance, must for the present be excluded and the present effort limited to tho effective construction and maintenance or a much less extent of roadway. Eliminating Local Influence. ''The second, essential requirement is that as far as possible th e expenditure or moneys provided out of Dominion finance for the* maintenance and construction of main arterial highways should be removed from political otparochial "influence of every kind. It is only in dealing with main highways under a comprehensive policv. free from all local influence, that material progress and improvement can be achieved within a reasonable time. Th& determination of the particular part of a highway to be constructed, reconstructed, or maintained, and of the particular parts of a highway requiring special and exceptional expenditure or maintenance should be left to* an independent expert board without interference from Govern ment or Parliament, except so far as is necessary to preserve the Government con trol of the expenditure of Government money. "The Bill to 'be submitted for the consideration of Parliament will propose provision for :—

"(1) The definition of what shall be for the present the main arterial highways for the purposes of the Bill. "(2) Tbe constitution of a board of departmental engineers and other gentlemen under whose control both the arterial highways and all moneys funded for the purpose of the construction and maintenance of tmch highway shall be placed. "(3) The first roads to be declared main arterial highways will be in the North Island -. A road from Kaitaia to Wellington, via Auckland, Hamilton, Te Kuitl Waitara and Wanganui ; a road from

Wellington to Gisborne. In the South Island a road from Blenheim to the Bluff, and a road from Blenheim via Nelson to Hokitika. ! "The Bill will propose that finance shall bo provided :— "1". By a special duty on tyres. I "2. By a license fee (apart' from the | local body registration fee) ou every four j or three-wheeled motor vehicle, motor cycle : and side-car, and motor-cycle. It is proposed that the license "fee should be I identical in amount for every four- ; wheeled vehicle, without deVerentiation ; for weight or power, and that there ' should be another uniform fee, less in i amount, for three-wheeled vehicles and I a third uniform fee for two-wheeled : vehicles. "3. By money provided by Parliament j annually from either the Public Works I Fund or Consolidated Fund. j "It must be added that where part : of a main arterial highway is a street <if a city or borough, such part will continue to be constructed and maintained ;a* at present out of city or borough funds. It is not proposed that the Board of Main Arterial Highways shall have . any power or duty in respect of the I streets of a borough or city, having | regard to the opportunity offered in j cities and boroughs of more intensive ; taxation on highly valued property and | the fact, that high speed traffic and its consequent destruction of roads is not | permissib'e or possible to anything like j same extent in boroughs or cities I as it is on the open read. | '"Trip exclusion of main highways in | 'boroughs and cities from the operation of ! the Bill is considered fair and reason- ; able."