THE PENINSULA COUNTY COUNCIL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23202, 28 May 1937, Page 6

THE PENINSULA COUNTY COUNCIL

ro niE EDITOR Sir,—The Peninsula County Council a short time ago made a great fuss about the widening of Pero's corner at Lower Portobello. The Main Highways Board, as I stated in previous correspondence, had the portion of the road from Portobello township to Harrington Point declared a main highway, this being the only portion of the long stretch from Dunedin city to Harrington Point that is not tar-sealed. This road is now greatly used by motorists, as it is a beautiful drive from Dunedin city down the top road to Harrington Point and back to the city by the low road, or vice versa. The portion of the road above-men-tioned was to be tar-sealed, and provision was made by the Highways Board to overcome Pero's corner by making a straight road through, and a special allowance was also to be made to the County Council to carry out the board's scheme, as well as the very generous subsidy on very easy terms of repayment over a period of years, at a low rate of interest. The Highways Board, in plain English, was making the county a deed of gift, but some of the wiseacres of the Peninsula County were either prejudiced or thought the offer too good to be true: or, as usual, were against progress and improvement. The work that was done at this corner was the outcome of pure prejudice and cussedness on the part of one county councillor, determined to get his own way, and show he could get a subsidy for the work upon a pet scheme he had championed to his brother councillors many times. His action, however, produced no subsidy, but only a very great loss and waste of county funds. •To bring about the scheme a four-roomed cottage was removed without compensation, a portion being supposed to be upon the street, and a public utility wharf was shortened, and inconvenience caused to people who would have assisted had the widening of this corner improved the position instead of making it dangerous and unsafe for traffic Pero's and Garside's corners still exist, and have not been improved. The Minister of Transport and Public Works wants common sense to be used in dispensing with as many corners as possible to obviate accidents, and that is one of the reasons, as well as the defiance of the Main Highways scheme, why the subsidy applied for at a speci-ally-arranged deputation was not granted. In the Main Highways Board's scheme part of the road is already formed, in line with or near the electric light poles, the large trees require to be cut down, and the remaining small portion to be cut through. The portion at the back of Garside's cottage was the ground which the County Council contended was slipping; it only required draining and a small toe (stone wall) built along the foot to hold it. On a former occasion I stated that from Portobello township to Gill's corner the whole of the hill was on the move. Now look what has happened! The whole of the hill came down, and held up traffic and business for days, men having to work night and day to clear the debris away. What I want to impress is the fact that the County Council endeavoured to show that it was dangerous to cut a road through at the point suggested by the Highways Board, and that if the corner were widened the effect would be to obviate this. Well, the corner has been widened, and made more dangerous; rio Highways Board road has been cut through, and the whole hill has come down, and will continue to do so until it is properly drained to a given point and a small wall is built or trees are planted to hold the ground. I am sure county councillors must have had ringing ears if'they heard the expressions of business men who had to leave their cars at one side of the slip and pick up others at the other side. Everybody would sympathise with the county and property owners if an unforeseen position should arise, but this has been happening so often for years, and the county has always turned a blind eye to this portion, and also to two other portions nearer the township of Portobello, and only takes action when Nature forces the position upon it. If the council maintains it has one chain wide roads, why does it not make provision for safety on this width of road? It must remember that this is the motor age, and it must move with the times. What have the county councillors to say now after wasting over £3OO of county funds on the useless widening of a corner? What has happened is what they were frightened would happen if they cut the road. Are they now prepared to allow discretion to be the better part of valour and adopt the Highways Board's scheme and do something sensible, tangible, and lasting, thereby expediting the tarsealing, and giving both pedestrian and vehicular traffic of all descntpions a good road, instead of the present rough one which is now, and for some time past has been, practically impassable for pedestrians and cycles—l am. etc Thos. Anderson.