THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBURBS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7268, 26 October 1910, Page 1

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBURBS

INADEQUATE COMMUNICATION KILBXDNID TUNNEL DUPLICATION’ URGED. FREIGHT CABS MOOTED^ *A dcpulafimi r.ansi.stins' bcfween, seventy am! eighty redden ks of ITatuiUu, Kilbiniic ami Jbr/'neat h, organised by! the RaLepayej-/ Av.oeblionw of the *hreo‘ places mentioned wailed. upon the Mayor l CM r T. M. Wilford) in Urn Comic!! Chambur of the Town Hw.U last evening <x>. urgo that immediate eteps bo taken la provide belter tramway facilities to tlto.ro localities, their requests including tlio duplication or improvement of the; K-jlbirnio tunned. Mr W. Ueginbotliara, chairman of tho Kilbirnio Ratepayers' Association, -said tho distract ho represented, was growing’ rapidly, and it was imperative that a bolter tramway service and a larger tunnel should be provided, Tho lino vras now much congested, and was not capable of coping with the traffic. At holiday times and in the "rush'” hours it was quit© a common tiling to see passengers waiting at every stopping place, and they were frequently .unable to get a seat. The residents beyond the tunnel were also at u great disadvantage in re l gard to tho cartage of good*, everything by vehicle having to go by way or bonstable street. Tho residents would like as direct a route as. possible from Courtenay place. SOMETHING DEFINITE.

Mr Leigh :Huut, president of tho Hataiiai I?atcpayers J Association, said the residents wanted some definite reply from th© council in regard to tho duplication of tbo tunnel. The trains •were overtaxed, and people found it difficult to get j7romptly to "business* and homo again on this account. It hud been suggested that by referring the duplication question to the city engineer tho council had Xmlitely “shelved” the matter, but ho did not believe that such insincerity was being practised. The delay, he believed. Was really due to the pressure of work on tho engineer. l Mr Hunt referred to the phenomenal growth of the districts concerned. At the present time forty new houses were being built in Hataitai. The City Council had responsibilities and should shoulder them at once. Ho believed he was right in sayiug that the cost of erection of every dwelling was increased by XTS for cartage. This meant from three thousand to four thousand pounds a year—a sum which would go a 'long way towards the interest on the money, required for building another tunnel. For ordinary carriage Ss a ton /was paid and tills was a heavy burden .on- the 'ratepayers. A neighbour of his had paid 15s recently to bring a nurse into the suburb to attend a case off sudden illness. It often' happened that residents were obliged to.use cabs and taxis. No doubt there would bo a largo number of workers' homes built near tho patent slip in the near future as a result of tho extensive works contemplated by the Union Steamship Company, and this was an additional argument for increased transport facilities. ‘Owing to tho heavy traffic on the Lyall Bay lino on holidays it was -impossible for residents on the further-side of the tunnel to get accommodation in. the trams running out, and they had to ride, to tho Go verm ment station to get a seat on a Lyall Bay car.

The Mayor: That's the best thing for the city's finances!

Mr Leigh. Hunt said Hatadtai residents were ju a- unique position because the Hataitod Land Company had'contributed .£IO,OOO towards the 'cost olf the tunnel, and that amount had been added on to the cost of the land. It- meant practicall3 T that Hataitad had presented the city with a tunnel which was now obsolete. 'Some .special treatment at the hands of the council should be given in re-turn. ' Mr Liardet, president of the Rosencath Ratepayers' Association, said the only way Roseucath residents could hope for tram connection with the city was through Hataitai. It was for that reason his association had fallen in with the scheme for making a double tunnel. Delay m ’carrying out works in'special districts was in many instances duo to ignorance on the part of those responsible of the , requirements of such districts, and lie extender! an invitation to the Mayor and councillors to - visit the districts represented by the deputation in older that they might get some first hand information. . INADEQUATE STAFF.

In reply, th© Maj r or assnz-ed the deputation. that the council wars i'ulli y awaro of the difficulties referred' to. The staff,- however, was inadequate to cope with the requirements of the public jn regard to public works. He had been endeavouring to get a survey made of the land recently purchased at Lyall Bay, but no member of the engineer's staff had had time to carry out the work. The Wainui main duplication scheme was creating an enormous amount of work, and all that could be done was being put in hand. Another trouble was that a.s soon as a. man'in the city engineer's department became proficient he was engaged by some other council. This year some of the most valuable officers in the employ, who had been trained by Mr Morton, had been offered and had accepted other appointments. Labour was another great difficulty. He had asked the engineer for an alternative report on the tunnel scheme, but Mr Morton had not yet been able to furnish it. One proposal dealt witli alterations to the present tunnel in order to make it cope with requirements, and the second suggestion concerned the construction of a tunnel in a different place. As soon as the reports wore forthcoming he would put them before the council. Every councillor realised that the increase of traffic on the l-ulbirma lino bad been abnormal, and additional cars wore needed on Saturday nights and on holidays. Last Saturday nighT a' five minutes service had been run, and with the exception of one all the cars had been required. The traffic was now 50 heavy at tiroes that cars ran right through* without stopping, but that was not desirable when passengers were waiting for accommodation, FREIGHT CARS. The cars could cone with all the traffic if the line were duplicated. No argument would convince him to the contrary. Ho -recognised that the district tto«* at a disadvantage in regard to vehicular traffic; and , although any scheme in connection with the tunnel must be a long way ahead ho proposed to do something iu„ the way of goods transport, lie had asked the city eioctrical engineer for a report on the possibility of running freight cars through.

the tunnel, and be would like to get the service inaugurated immediately. (Applause). A room should bo provided insay, Courtenay place, where goods might be deposited and loaded on to freightcars in the morning and evening. De]K)ts would bo established at tlie Kilbirnio side of the tunnel. The residents would thereby be saved a good deal of inconvenience. It was a practical idea. The public would be saved expense and, the corporation would benefit by the revenue. He believed ,in the policy of tramwav extension, and although some lines had not paid that objection could not be raised against the ICilbirme extension. The Lyall Bay beach had helped considerably to swell the returns. ,■> The council intended making the beach • more* attractive, and this, would moan a great deal of extra traffic. The council would have to face the question.of building now cars. It would not cost much to construct a couple of fieight cars* but when it came to th© general question of building additional passenger cars they had to consider the L.S.D. ; He would not advocate any huge expenditure this year, and ho could promise nothing except that the council would have a chance of fully debating the reports when submitted. KARORFS REQUIREMENTS. At the ordinary meeting of the Karon Borough Council last night, on the re* couunendation of Councillor Weddo. it. was resolved to call a meeting of the* tramways committee at an early date te consider th© question of readjusting, the. fares, and also approaching the City Council with a view of getting "mor tuary" cars on the line. The question of providing workers' cars will also be discussed. •