SOUTH DUNEDIN'S MAIN STREET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12415, 26 July 1902, Page 2

SOUTH DUNEDIN'S MAIN STREET.

THE WIDENING OF HILLSIDE ROAD, j Hillside road, which constitutes ihr> main street of South Dunedin, was originally laid • off as a district road; aa at that time there ; 1 was 110 idea that tho Flat, then a. swamp, would become as thickly populated as the ' city itself. Tts narrowness has long been felt to bo a reproach, ami for years the question of widening it lies been discussal. The Caversham Borough Council nearly three yours ago succeeded in making terms with the Caledonian Society and Hie Church Board of Property, and portion of the road in Kensington was vastly improved by bums widened 25ft. The St. Kilda Council was also snccr-ssful in adding to the width of tnafc portion of the road within its lx>undnry, The South Dunedin povtion was unfortunately rather extensively built upon before the need for widening became so pressing, and though the matter was "kept steadily in view" it is not siirpriiing that action has been delayed. But the congested state of the traffic on that portion of the road within the borough, and the certainty of that congestion becoming intensified with the introduction of elcclric tramways with its double line of railp lias caused ' that council to at length take up the matter in earnest also, and while not exactly entertaining vision; of a spacious broad way, lined with imposing structures 111 stone or brick, the council evidently mean?, if possible, to widen tho road, and allow only substantial buildings, other than in wood, to be erected on the Eido where the _ widening operation takes place, ami in time to weed out tho wooden buildings on tho other side. At present a stranger might well ask where the main street is, ns Hillside road is more in the nature of ' ik lajio than the main' street of an important suburb. At several recent meetings the matter lnts been discussed, having heon brought under notice by, among others, Mr John Downie. An engineer .' has boon instructed to inspect the BoiUh V"'cdin portion of tho road and report m to the protelilo t cost of taking 25ft of tho properties abutting on tho road, or, as &n alternative, buying up the whole of the properties. With the object of ascertain- 1 ing the extent of such an operation in the i property market one of our stall visited the '■ locality and interviewed some gentlemen who have given the matter some considera- ' tion, and the results of these inquiries are j here r;ivcn. It juust he first explained that Reusing- ! ton is part of Caversham, and that South Dunedin begins with C.irgill road. On the north-cast side of the Hillside road thcro are a total of 12 buildings, with frontages to the road in the Caversham section, three being built of brick and nine of wood. In the So;;tli Dunedin section thero are r.O | buildings, with frontages to tho road, four I of these being built of brick and 26 of ! wood. There are in addition 19 vacant allotments. Of the buildings in the Caversham section, the Kensington Hotel arid Wardrop's drug store are both two storeys and built of brick, and there is a singlestoroy brick store. In the South Dunedin seotion two of the brick buildings are of two storeys. Several of tho wooden buildings are substantial and fairly modern, while several others are what might be termod old buildings. Pour of the buildings are built back to tho proposed frontage—the Salvation Army Barracks, a brick dwelling, and two wooden dwellings. % Hie engineer who has been engaged l.y the_ South Dunedin Council to make an estimate of the coat, of tho alterations has to deal with the block bounded on the north end by Cargill road, on the front by Hilkido road, and at the rear by Rankeilor street, to a point midway between 'M'Bride street and Mecandrew road, and from thence to Bay View road, only with the allotments fronting Hillside road. This outline encloses the propcrtv which it is proposed tho South Dunedin Council should acquire, and iu this space are 93 allotments m all, 37 of them being vacant. Roughly speaking, said a prominent member of the Finance Committee of the South Dunedin Council to our representative, to take 25ft of frontage would cost between £12,000 and £15,000 for land and compensation. and very probably even more. This "would moan a sixpenny rate, which would be a heavy burden. Rut if the council took all the land fronting the street m the astern side, and, after widening the street, let f.tie remainder of the ground on building lease*, there is no reason why the ontlav should not repay itsolf to the council, and in time yield a. profit. Of this viow'morc later on. There is another point of view, and this was probably put iu the strongest light by a gentleman well versed in municipal affairs. His contention is that Hillside road is not the main street of South Dunedin at all, for Anderson's Bay road, ho holds, is in every respect more suitable. Hillside road became the main street, he says, because in th©_ early davs it was the centre of the habitable area: but now that the populated area has spread out, Anderson's Bay road is the more fitted as the main artery, It. is three chains wide already, and runs almost parallel with Hillsido road, while it would form a more direct route to the city instead of tho long angle described by the present route, which, afrer all. is simply the main artery for St. Kilda. Ee pointed out that when the Harbour -Board's reclamation works are complclcil n largi area will be available for buildings on the harbour side of Anderson's Bay road, and <h!s would lie portion of South Dunedin Borough. 'An electric car lines are to be first laid on Anderson's Bay road, and this, ho thinks, will wove instructive, for he believes it will show tliat the major portion of the South Dunedin public will travel by that route to and from the city, and the council will find that if the cars run there first for six months the great passenger traffic, of the. borough •will be transferred to Anderson's Bay read. He holds that to widen Hillside road will only benefit those whoso business p'aces are on 'that street and St. Kilda Borough, whilo the bulk of .the ratepayers, net having an interest iu the street, will simply 'have to pay out for the benefit of those who had. fie doe.,' not think tho ratepayers will sanction the proposal. He contends also that municipal landlordism would not produce sali.-'faclory It has not. done so in the line of | Im City Corporation holdings ocar Mac.r.idi'sw road and fronting Hill, side road. Further, it is nol; the function of a council to assume the ro'c of estate holders, and he questions whether the ground, other than that required for the street, could be taken under either ihs .Public Works or Municipal Corporations Act*. This is, of course, a narrow way of looking at the question, lint, even supposing .fhn traffic were diverted, the street would still require widening. Kensington Hotel corner, for instance, is a most dangerous point. The operation o£ widening the street will, no doubt, menu a heavy outlay, but most ratepayers will think it justified. The council concerned has numerous instances of such measures, particularly in the case of Birmingham. Tho task set tho municipal authorities in South Dunedin is not a light one, but as there is much vacant land, and the majority of tho buildings are wooden structures (lie compenration for the buildings should not be such a heavy item. It would lie difficult, if not impossible, for a layman to arrive at the probable cost, fo:, there are many things to be taken Into ccn- ; eideration. There would bo tho first charge of the land, the' cost of tho buildings, the

assessment of loss in business to shopholders, etc. As to the idea mentioned by the Mayor of South Dunedin (Mr Chctwin) at a recent council meeting—viz., that of buying up the land £«itl letting that not required for tho street, on building lease—this certainly see.m.t tho more likely to prove a profitable ochcme than to simply, take the land required for the street, and rats tho whole lwrough for the cost thereof. Mr Chctwjn has announced that, as far as he in concerned, the latter coursa will never be- adopt?d in .South Dunedin, for it would wean the whole of tho ratepayers beini; taxed for the benefit of the property-holders en Hillside road. He corsidert-and this view is he'.d pretty generally by the council—that by buying out the land, forming the street, and letting the remainder on ?,1 years' building leases, the council would recuperate, and thus the ratepayers lose nothing. Tho.presonl Ihi'-Vh would be paid for the land taken, and * .'V would have first offer of the leases, mill concessions in the way of a small rental would mnteriallv affect tho first charge to the council. Of course, the lenses would 1)3 subject to revaluation, at the expiry of ihe term, and when they fell in the ratepayer.! of South Dunedin would hold a very valuable asset ■ against the first ontlav. It. of coursc, wouiit be a provision of lease that only substantial brick structures slwuld be •erec'-?d. The question is certain to evoke considerable discussion. The engineer's estimate of the cast of tlio improvement should be before the couucil in about a month, and on that estimate will no douui largely depend the decision of tho Borough Council. If the Soutli Dunedin Council'decide upon purchasing the whole of tho frontages it will have entered upon a policy that will be watched with interest throughout the colrny as an important and instructive step in inunic.inal government, and which cannot •bo regarded a3 otherwise than progressive and far-seeing.