ROADING COSTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27211, 14 October 1949, Page 6

ROADING COSTS

TOURIST CENTRES STATE AID URGED Staff Reporter QUEENSTOWN, Oct. 13. The road to the Queenstown camping ground was like the Strand in London at Christmas time, said the Mayor of Queenstown, Dr W. A. Anderson, when moving a remit that the Government -be urged to grant assistance for the sealing of roads and streets in all main tourist resorts in view -of the volume of “ foreign ” traffic which used these thoroughfares.

Dr Anderson said that Queenstown had made every endeavour to get Government assistance for the work but so far had been unsuccessful.’ Three hundred ratepayers would have to pay a bill of something like £I2OO to tar-seal the camp road. Mr D. H. Cockbum, a member of the Main Highways Board, said he held some hopd that the board might take h favourable view of the claim. The remit was carried. " ' Milford Road

The Lake County Council asked that the conference should press the Government for completion of the Eglin-ton-Milford road. Mr Cockburn said that for the present year the Highways Board could only do enough work to make the road fit for restricted traffic and not for the public. The remit was approved. / A substantial grant had been authorised by the Highways Board to do work on the road and he would ask for the remit to be withdrawn, said Mr Jf. McCartney, for the Mosgiel borough, which wanted reconstruction of the Dunedin-Inverpargill main highway on the section through Green Island. The remit was withdrawn. A remit from the Nelson-Marl-borough-West Coast League ,of Local Bodies that all combined road and railway bridges in the South Island be eliminated as soon as practicable and that in the meantime signal warning devices be installed on them was carried. Railway Improvements On the motion of the West Harbour Council, it was decided to make further representations td the Government for railcars in any part of the South Island and to have modem carriages made available on suburban lines to replace the antiquated carriages at present in use and immediate improvement in lighting.. “ Cattle tracks are a bit better than the carriages on the suburban lines,” commented Mr T. Anderson, Mayor of Port Chalmers. The unsatisfactory condition »of. many of the railway service buses operating on long routes was referred to by Mr Cockburn. Suggesting that some action should be taken, Mr Cockburn said that the public was experiencing considerable delays and discomfort. Many of the buses were out of repair compared with enterprise lines he had travelled with. It was decided to approach the department on the matter. Air Service to Stewart Island The Director of Civil Aviation had told him that an air service between Bluff and Stewart Island would most likely be considered first of the internal air services, said Mr Cockburn in speaking to a remit from the Bluff Harbour Board that the association should press for the early establishment of a seaplane service between Stewart Island and Bluff. Mr A. T. Newman, Mayor of Gore, mentioned the difficulty of medical services as far as Stewart Island inhabitants were concerned. An air link should be established even if only for cases of sickness or accident. Thereout was carried.