MAIN HIGHWAYS

Southland Times, Issue 20395, 26 January 1928, Page 8

MAIN HIGHWAYS

BOARD ON TOUR SOUTHLAND DISTRICTS VISITED CONFERENCE WITH LOCAL BODIES The Main Highways Board reached Southland yesterday. The personnel of the board is as follows: Messrs F. W. Furkert (chairman), J. Wood, J. J. Gibson (Government representatives), M. D. Wynyard (Motor Association’s representative), C. J. Talbot, A. E. Jull (counties’ representative), A. Tyndall (engineer), W. A. Sutherland (secretary), J. R. Marks (chairman of District Highways Councils 16 and 17), and A. A. Williamson (secretary of District Highway Councils 16 and 17). The party was met in the morning near Gore by Messrs T. Golden (chairman), E. Bowmar (member) and B. C. Basstian (engineer), of the Southland County Council, and travelled to Winton, Otautau, Tuatapere, Round Hill and Riverton reaching Invercargill in the evening. At Winton and Riverton the party was met by borough representatives. Mr Furkert outlined the policy of the board and informed the local representatives that the 1$ miles of highways through their towns were to be declared main highways and would therefore come under the main highways subsidy. Members of the Otautau Town Board and the Wallace County Council waited on the party at Otautau. From Tuatapere to Riverton the road taken was the one leading through Round Hill, which is in the course of formation and has been recommended as one of the secondary highways. In the evening a conference was held at Invercargill. The party leaves this morning for Roxburgh and intervening counties. SOUTHLAND ROADS. The members of the board last evening placed their views of Southland loading problems before a meeting held at the Southland County Council offices. The following bodies were represented—Southland County Council; Wallace County Council; Bluff Borough Council; South Invercargill Borough Council and the Southland Motor Association. Mr Adam Hamilton M.P. was also present. In welcoming the members of the board to Invercargill Mr T. Golden said the county had got 90 per cent, of what it had asked for from the board, and they hoped to secure the other ten per cent, that evening. Mr F. W. Furkert first complimented the county on its roads in general, saying that he had often held up Southland as an example. A great improvement had taken place in two years, and the roads were now a credit to the enterprise and ability of the council and its staff.

Referring to the Bluff-In* rcargill road, Mr E. Bowmar Said the rates received from properties fronting the road were only £ll5. Maintenance costs were £1333, of which the local bodies w’ould pay £617 and the board £716. He maintained that the proportion of Government road in Southland was ridiculously small.

Dr Torrance and Messrs J. S. A. McDougall, W. Smith and J. R. Haigh spoke in his support, asking that the InvercargillBluff road be declared a Government highway. In his reply Mr A. E. Jull said the fact that it was in a non-productive area was not unique. With the introduction of the petrol tax a bigger subsidy for secondary roads and also to counties near boroughs could be expected. Mr Furkert said there was no danger of a transference from the South to the North Island fund. In the allocation of funds the South Island had been given everything for which it asked, whereas in many cases the requirements of the North Island had been cut down. No motorists’ money had been given to unemployment relief as the board held no motorists’ money. It was part of the general fund from taxation and no interest w r as paid by motorists on money used to relieve unemployment. Mr Talbot assured the meeting that no distinction was made by the board either in policy or finances between the two islands. Among the reasons behind the transfer of South Island money from the revenue to the construction account was the fact that quite an amount had accumulated before the board came into operation. The board had not known what money was necessary so a cautious policy had been adopted. Furthermore, it took some time for the counties to appreciate the new position and alter their policies accordingly. No South Island money had been given to the North Island and the board had taken a strong stand on that point. In spite of what had been said by Mr Furkert and others it had been asserted that South Island money was going to the North Island, and one Christchurch paper had gone so far as to say that the whole of the money in the construction account had been thus expended. He w*ould give these statements his emphatic denial. The matter of having two separate boards was one for the Government, but he was satisfied that under a separate board the South Island would receive no better treatment. Mr E. Bowmar compared the maintenance costs in the county stating that in 1916 expenditure was £17,428, in 1924 £35,089 and in 1927 £44,567. In eleven years it had increased three and a half times. He was led to believe that counties which in the past had neglected their roads were now receiving better treatment than others which had, like the Southland County, kept them up to standard. Again it could be said that the Southland County was suffering because it was so large in extent.

Mr Furkert: It might suffer because the cost of upkeep is so low, not on account of its size.

Continuing, Mr Bowmar said that those who provided the money and used the roads should have the money. Mr Jull said the suggestion was impracticable owing to the different nature of the work in the different parts. Mr Hamilton said it would therefore have been better to strike a local rate. It was to relieve ratepayers that the petrol tax had been put on the Statute Book, but it would not be effective for those in the south which would get nothing like its share.

Mr Wynyard said that the basis of distribution would be £l3l per mile in the North Island and £B5 in the south, which was almost in the same proportion to the number of motor vehicles.

At the conclusion of the meeting the board members were thanked by Mr Golden.