HIGHWAYS COUNCIL

Southland Times, Issue 19102, 21 November 1923, Page 5

HIGHWAYS COUNCIL

FIRST MEETING YESTERDAY ITS CONDITIONS OF OPERATION PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE. Yesterday the first meeting of the District Highways Council, appointed in connection with the recently created Highways Board was held in the local Public Works office. The Highways Councils have a purely advisory character in relation to the board, one having been appointed for each district as defined under the provisions of the Highways Act. The local council— No. 18 officially—embraces within its area of operations the Southland County, Wallace County and Stewart Island, and attends to the largest area of any of the similar bodies in New Zealand. Its personnel is: An official of the Public Works Department* appointed by the Government, and a member of each county council within th® Council’s area. The functions of the body are as has been stated purely advisory. Its duties are the consideration of proposals in connection with the main highways submitted to it by the board, th® transmission of these to each member’® council and also the conveyance of the local county council’s opinion to the board in regard to proposed new construction work, reconstruction, or purely the maintenance of existing roads. Upon a decision to undertake new works the Highways Board provides one half the necessary cost of construction and the county council within whose area the work is performed, the pther half, succeeding maintenance charges being levied in the proportion of one-third on the board and two-thirds on the council. Reconstruction of existing roads is levied in the same proportion as for new works. The carrying out of aby particular work may be delegated to a county council by the Highways Board or it may perform such work itself. It is expected, however, that all work will be entrusted to th® county councils concerned. The local council which met yesterday, is composed of Mr L. B. Campbell (Government appointee), chairman, Mr E. Bowmar (representing Southland County), and Mr F. J. Linscott (representing Wallac® County). Mr Campbell was elected chairman under the rules of procedure which provide that at the initial meeting of th® Council a chairman shall be elected until June 24 next, after which date the chairman will be elected for the customary annual period. Future meetings are in th< hands of the chairman and the council wil hold two or three meetings before Apri next when the Highways Board will make a commencement in carrying out the works it decides upon in accordance with the recommendations of the various councils. Yesterday the Council had before it requests from the Board to define the arterial roads within its area, as distinct from purely local roads and particulars as to the centres they connected and the nature of the traffic which ordinarily passed over them. The meeting, properly one for the strangement of the Council’s duties, really transacted no business of a definite character but accomplished much in the direction of preparing for the future and the bringing into operation of the machinery for the administration of the Act.