NEW TRAFFIC OUTLETS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19601, 1 April 1927, Page 10

NEW TRAFFIC OUTLETS.

Two large schemes for the creation of new traffic routes in areas of heavy congestion have been commended by the City Council to its prospective successors, and the engineer has been instructed to prepare information for them regarding a third. These recommendations have followed lengthy consideration in open- council anU in committee, the plan for the Belgium Street extension having been presented in definite form to the council nearly four months ago. Some critical observations were then made by several members of the council, and as these objections were not raised at last evening's meeting, it would appear that they have been satisfied during the committee deliberations. But while the council may be as.convinced of the soundness of the engineer's proposals as it is evidently impressed by the urgency of relieving the congestion, a doubt still remains whether it has taken a sufficiently broad view of the problem, A scheme has been prepared for the construction of a new highway from Upper Queen Street to the New North Road. So far as the public reports show, the engineer has never stated that this is the best route, nor is there any evidence of a comprehensive study having been made of the effect such an outlet would have upon the direction and the volume of traffic in the neighbouring highways. Yet consideration of those aspects should have preceded any formulation of the practical details of construction. The difficulties of the problem are more easily seen than their solution : unfortunately, it seems that the council and its officers have simply adopted an empirical solution, without sufficient thought for the fresh difficulties its application may create. To the new council has been left the task of examining the situation more comprehensively than has yet been done, with due regard to the reactions of any new scheme upon existing thoroughfares and traffic tendencies.