ROADS AND COUNCILS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 88, 5 July 1927, Page 12

ROADS AND COUNCILS

Motorists will be glad to know that the alterations on the corner of Customs Street and Queen Street are now practically completed. The work of re-setting the tramway lines there intensified the congestion at what is always Auckland’s busiest corner.

Mr. G. R. Hogan, the chief traffic inspector, is again advocating the need for a traffic outlet from Grafton Road to Beach Road. This proposal is one that has been shelved from time tD time, but Mr. Hogan is satisfied, afte.. calculation, that the considerable increase in east-bound traffic demands this outlet.

The old complaint against the Highways Board that it has no policy was vigorously answered by its chairman, Mr. F. W. Furkert, last week. Mr. Furkert said the whole intention of the Act was that the initiative should come from county councils, who are primarily responsible for expending the money and for future upkeep, although the Highways Board had deviated from the original policy to the extent of considerably increasing its proportion of maintenance expenditure.

A deputation of ratepayers and iesidents waited on the Mount Eden Borough Council recently and :sked that the lower portion of Grange Road be attended to at once. It was claimed that the bad condition of the road was a blot on the record of the borough.

At its last meeting the Northcote Borough Council considered the prospect of asking the ratepayers to sanction a loan for tar-sealing the remaining portion of Lake Road.

A committee was set up at the lust meeting of the Otahuhu Borough Council to negotiate for the purchase of a piece of land which will enable a straight entrance to be made into High Street.

Mr. M. H. Wynyard, motorists’ representative on the Main Highways Board, addressed a public meeting at Pukekohe recently. The meeting was presided over by Mr. J. Fulton, chairman of the Franklin branch of the A.A.A. Mr. Wynyard explained that the Main Highways Board was s?t up to ease the burden on rural local bodies, in the maintenance of roads for through motor traffic, and to provide a uniform system of highways. The diversion of traffic from the One Tree Hill Road Board’s section of the Great South Road approaching Penrose has resulted in heavy damage to the secondary routes. Concrete has been laid in a single strip 13ft. wide for about half a mile, and pending its curing Rockfield Road and Wails Road are being used. Neither of the detour roads is up to the standard necessaiy to carry the heavy lorry traffic bound for Westfield, and in spite of reasonable maintenance potholes are increasing daily. Although only about half a mile of the main highway is closed, it is necessary to cover nearly a mile on the deviations. Motorists bound for the southern townships are advised by the Auckland Automobile Association to travel through Mangere or Ellerslie and Panmure.

The road between Gisborne and Opotiki is in a bad way again this winter and the motor services have ceased running right through. The road between Motu and Gisborne has been closed altogether.