TRANSPORT NEEDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22512, 1 September 1936, Page 8

TRANSPORT NEEDS

f LOOKING TO FI]TDBE j AUdKLAND AND SUBUKBS inadequacy OF railway By 4 P- NEALE, M A.! LL.B, D Sc M.Com., F.S.S. No. VII. In tjie third article of this ser ie. the pomt was stressed that there seems to be Jio comprehensive plan for the future; transport requirements of Aucfc land. Ji is true that air transport is in its infancy and that the situatrSn in this regard may be profoundly modified in the jiear future. That need not prevent a plan being drawn out now and subjected, in the years to come to periodical modifications in the light of improved transport technique and other changing conditions.

Without such a plan there is grave danger that heavy works or buildings may be constructed right in the path of future lines of transport, necessitating unffieldlv detours or heavv com* pensation. Every large city can pro. vide its examples of such mistakes. There has been in the past insufficient co-operation between the local authorities and the general Government. A board combining the present functions of the Local Government Loans Board and the Public Works Department might be a solution in the broader field; while in the sphere of transport, which is so important as to call for special treatment, a separate body might be necessary. In South Africa, it is interesting to note, some of New Zealand's mistakes in the matter of duplication of railway and harbour facilities have been avoided by having the railways and the harbours all under one administration. Tramway Time-table The failure of the Auckland Transport Board to co-ordinate its tram timetable with that of the railways is another instance of the need for our transport systems to be und£r the surveillance of some authority able and willing to envisage all our transport as one unit. Such a board as that outlined above, given appropriate .statutory powers and a personnel with the requisite outlook and experience, could also du much in the direction of arranging for tho expansion of general Government and local body capital expenditure in times of general economic depression and the contraction of public capital expenditure in times of general boom; thus ironing out those fluctuations in employment which are perhaps the most serious blot on our national economic life. Apathetic Public Public opinion in New Zealand is surprisingly apathetic in such matters. The railway station was placed in a situation where it is of use to the suburbanite desirous of doing city shopping or travelling to or from city work only if the second inseparable half of the plan (involving the completion of the Morningside tunnel) is proceeded witlv Many people on the opening of the new station immediately ceased to use the railway and have now completely forgotten such a contraption exists. The Auckland suburban area has some oft per cent more population than the corresponding Wellington area, but only about half the rail traffic. A new generation is growing up in .Auckland th.it does not know what a railway is. Contrast this with the heavy traffic by electric railway in Melbourne or Sydney 1 Present Time to Act The Mayor of Auckland has done a signal service to the community in pointing out that we possess only half a suburban railway service. Are the citizens of Auckland so apathetic that they will remain content with the present apology for a modern suburban railway transport service when they have a Government pledged to support and build up the railway systems and willing and eager to find work for the unemployed within easy proximity to their homes?Now seems to be the day psd the hour. Have we citizens of Auckland so little pride in the future of our city, and so little interest in the convenience and comfort of our fellow citizens and of those who are to come after, that we will be content with the present aimless drift, without a compass, without a rudder, without a beacon, without a chart ? |