COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18411, 29 May 1923, Page 12 (Supplement)

COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

THE PROBLEM OF ROADS WAIKATO'S. SERIOUS HANDICAP. EXACTIONS OF MODERN TRAFFIC

' There is no set standard upon which roads mav bo judged. People set their own standard and often change it, and 'thus it comes about that opinions differ in a manner almost alarming. The motorist naturally has a much more exacting standard than the man who drives a dray. The back country sheep farmer who still cheerfully uses pack horses, regards tlio dairy farmer's demands as excessive and probably the conservative pioneer ' who lives in the past, thinks they are all wrong. Thus it is dangerous to express . sweeping opinions about the roading of the Waikato. For present purposes, however, discussion had better be confined to the territory most closely settled, for here dairying is the leading industry and dairying pro\ides the foundations and much of the superstructure of the economic life j of the Waikato and its towns., > It may be asserted without fear of contradiction from those who are vitally concerned with the roads in this region, that they are bad and occasionally very bad. If roads are an asset, then the Waikato speaking generally has not yet found that asset. For a dairying district, it is ten : years behind tire times in the matter of roads, the- present condition of which imposes a tax upon every pound of butterfat produced. The actual tax upon each pound may be infinitesimal, but, to quote the American who discussed the wastage caused through sawing a carcase in two f'instead of chopping it, "the'individual fractions mean dollars and cents when totalled." Waste fractions are being scattered every day along the roads of the Waikato, but they are not in the / form of paving material. It is highly probable that their total would go a long 1 way toward paying, the interest upon the i money required to. put the roads in good condition, but the difficulty, is in collecting them in the form of rates. Most rate-, payers find it much more easy to scatter a 'loss day by day" than to take means of stopping the loss by- paying out a- cheque 'every year. It is difficult for.them to, realise that they always have ; to "pay through the nose" for bad roads and it is. still more difficult for them "to reverse the order and get something for their money. ' A Comparison in Costs. The following illustration tells the whole story: Some time * ago a * commercial , traveller was -operating'in'Tarahala where there are now good,tar-sealed roads. He r used "a" Ford; car -and;" f 6r~isix~months his "repair billVwtfs '£s?<'TJie same man came, to a Waikato district: and s in:five months'his repair bill was over £50. ' , Men who do not use cars may retort that car repairs do not concern them, but uhey are wrong. The farmer cannot; get away from haulage charges whether,; he < owns motor vehicles' or not., ( If he uses K'orse waggons!or pays waggoners to do 5 "hiss carting, he pays the penalty of-bad roads in his bills. Furthermore, he loses 1 in land* values because the better roads are the 'more buyers are willing to | pay for land and the easier "it becomes for an owner to subdivide. One of the outstand- ' ing reasons why there has been a drift to tho cities is that bad roads have meant discomfort and isolation and all the disabilities which are produced by isolation. The drift has robbed the country districts of men, and particularly young * men, and from the consequent retardation of development) settlement, and production every land owner has suffered a loss. Years ago Tarauaki tackled the roading problem with a vigour that assured i success. Modern- dairying was there es- | tablished sooner than in the Waikato, and the land was ablo to carry the burden of special rates more easily. But there was also the fact that a clay sub-soil and consequently terrific mud, compelled setilers to set .about roading on a comprehensive scale. In the Waikato the rise of dairying came later, and owing to'the sandy porous nature of much of the • soil the necessity for thoroughly made metalled roads was not so great. Roughly shingled or sand roads had in the main served the pioneers who, on the whole, were conservative and inclined to make what they had "do." Then there was a lack of the hard metal in accessible places required for the making of permanent roads. This restricted what efforts were made by local bodies, which were among the last in the Dominion to realise that it was sound business to borrow money for roads and expend it under expert supervision. War Retards Work. With the rise of dairying came a new outlook upon roading needs, but before much leeway could be made up, the war broke out and a strict limit was placed upon local enterprise in respect to roading. Lack of money and lack of men caused the postponement of many a progressive scheme, and the subsequent increase in the cost of labour and material ' has perpetuated what the first effects of the war began. Added to this serious difficulty of costs is that of general financial stringency. The slump in the prices of dairy produce now appears to be over, but its effects are not, and naturally many farmers are more concerned about meeting their interest charges than in considering any scheme which would mean an added responsibility in the .diape of a special rate. But there is still another and increasing difficulty to be faced before good permanent roads can be constructed. It has b»pn brought into being by the motor and particularly 'he he .vy motor-lorry. 'Hie class of road that would have served fvery need a few years ago will not stand the strain <■? :he heavy traffic of to-day. , The motor-lorry is causing widespread I destruction, and consequently the cost of ; p'ad maintenance i< increasing. Thus two new pi Golem* arise —the problem of cons'.' ing' roads that will stand the wear a ,,d -ear of this hea y traffic, and the Mem to finance then' ••The three ton m >r Try i? playing j havoc with roads in t.. Waipa and Rag- i lan counties," -aid a Hamilton authority. ! "Roads which otherwise won] I be perfect J are a irass of pot i.oles. 1 am satisfied ; that it we are to Law s od roads the \ sol'd-tvred motor-lorry will have to go." j The Main South Road naturally is not < regarded as a local problem, and the peo- i pie of the Waikato anxiously await some j material results of the main highways j

legislation. The llangiriri Hills continue to cut off road communication with Auckland in the winter and during wet spells, and compel travellers to use tho railway. Until this highway which is a highway only in name, is put into good condition the Waikato will have as much cause for complaint as the people of the leading city in the Dominion. Describing the road- northwards, a motorist said that from Hamilton to Ngaruawahia it was what was called good. This meant that the stretch was not very bad. It was metalled, but the surface was rough and full of potholes. Between Ngaruawahia and Taupiri there were some low-lying stretches over swampy country, and they were always bad. From Taupiri to Hunt'ly there was a metalled road, which a few years ago was in good condition, but to-day it was broken into , potholes, and a car could not travel at j any speed. Between Huntly and Rangi-, riri there was another very unsatisfactory ! stretch of shingle and sand, and travellers, to avoid it, often took the road across the river crossing at Huntlv, re-crossing at Rangiriri. It was, however, merely a question of chancing the road that was 1 less bad. The Rangiriri Hills were the I next obstacle, but in justice it had to be ' said that if they were impassable in wet weather they were smooth in dry. From Mercer to Auckland there was a blue metalled road all the way, "but," he con- ! eluded, "it is still an Auckland road and, j judged by outside standards, bad." j Between Hamilton and Te Awamutu I the road was at present quite good by comparison with the north road, and be-! tween Te , Awamutu and Te Kuiti it was good in parts, not being metalled in one or two places. The Hamilton-Cambridge I Road was sometimes good, and sometimes j it was not. Being formed of shingle and sand, it required constant attention. I A multiplicity of local authorities may' which gives counties power to absorb road : have been a handicap to good roading in j the Waikato, but under recent legislation, 1 districts, this will pass. Already the Waipa county has absorbed the road dis- j tricts of Newcastle, Wharepapa, Parawera, Roto-orangi, and ; Kakepuku; The Waikato. county has not yet absorbed any road districts under this legislation, but two years ago the'Kirikiriroa Road district was merged voluntarily. There are still four road districts-.bordering- on the 'county. Cambridge, Tamahere, Whangamarino, and Huntly. ■ . I