THE DOMINIONS’ HIGHWAYS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LI, Issue 16805, 11 August 1925, Page 4

THE DOMINIONS’ HIGHWAYS.

WHAT IS BEING DONE.

GISBORNE’S SOUND POLICY

Two particularly interesting maps, one of the North Island, and the other of the South, have been issued by the Highways Board to illustrate the loading works which are being undertaken throughout the Dominion, the whole _of the roads coming within the scope of tnc Board’s activities being classified. In the North Island alone 79 distinct roads are shown, the longest being from the far north of Auckland to Wellington, a distance of 680 miles, while the shortest is under two miles. An outstanding feature of the map is the inclusion of a large in umber of roads which cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be regarded as main highways. In Taranaki alone, for instance, there arc at least a dozen'roads under five or six miles in length, all of which are obviously side roads serving small districts only. A similar condition prevails in. the Wellington district', notably in the Wairurapa ;and around Palmerston North. The Gisborne district lias fewer roads under the main highways schcmo than any other : district in the North Island, the classified roads being confined to three—the road from Auckland to Wellington, which traverses the district between Gisborne and Opotiki, and Gisborne and Napier; the Hicks Bav-Gis-borne road; and the Patutahi-Wairoa. road, via Hangaroa. The position of this district does not indicate, as might be thought, that the local Highways Council is Jacking in enterprise. What it does indicate is that the Council, unlike 'most of the controlling - bodies, recognises to tile full the spirit of the Main Highways Act. and lias formulated a programme best calculated to serve the needs of the district as a whole, rather than one which panders to the settlers of any particular locality, or to any particular local body.

It is probably in this fact that rests the secret of Gisborne’s success in the allocations which are being made to the district for roading purposes. An examination of the new maps appears to suggest that most Highways Councils, in order to secure the co-operation of local bodies, have required to include in their proposals roads which are essentially parochial, and by no means part of the arterial highways of the Dominion. The result lias been that the expenditure in their districts has had' to bo spread over a. large number of minor roads of quite secondary importance, while in the GishornC' district work is being concentrated on those roads which are connecting links with other centres, and which are essential to the development of the district. The Hangaroa road is, in fact, the only instance of duplication in this district, while elsewhere there are innumerable roads leading to the ono point. It is not known just how the Highways Board has allocated its moneys for the present year, but it is known that Gisborne is to secure something in excess of 10 per cent, of the total alloca : tions for the Dominion, and it may.reasonably bo argued that this is.the result of a far-sighted and wise policy on the part of the local Highways Council.