WAIMATE COUNTY COUNCIL

Taranaki Daily News, 16 January 1931, Page 9

WAIMATE COUNTY COUNCIL

TRAFFIC REGULATIONS. COST OF MAIN HIGHWAYS. The monthly meeting of the Waimate" County Council was held yesterday. Present were Messrs. E. Long (chairman), T. A. Bridge, J. Leslie, S. H. Le Fleming, H. H. Buxton, J. S. McKay and F. Mourie. The engineer, Mr. J. A. Hansen, reported that 35 chains more of Skeet Road near Kapuni had been re-surfaced with bitumen. Sixty-five chains, of upper Manaia Road had been re-surfaced. Most of the staff were widening and resurfacing Skeet Road between Taikatu and Auroa Roads. It had been necessary to sand several roads during the hot weather. Maintenance had been carried out on Manaia, Skeet, Main South and Normanby Roads. The Post and Telegraph Department advised regarding" the cost of removal of telegraph poles stating that the council had evidently been under a misapprehension when it considered the matter. It was pointed out that the Post and Telegraph Act gave the department power to erect poles on roadways. The chairman: The department has the right to put poles on roads but, they cannot put them where they like. They must consult the county engineer. The clerk read another letter from the department stating that owing to county road excavations a telegraph pole on South-Road one mile south of Manaia would have to be lowered and the cost would be charged to the county. The chairman: That is right. We have interfered with the pole. Mr. Hansen said that recently the telegraph engineer had consulted him as to the positions for poles the department proposed to erect on upper Glenn Road. This, was the first time he had been consulted regarding telegraph pole sites. The council decided to investigate its position under the Act and discuss the question at next meeting. Reporting on last meeting ,of the Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association the chairman said regional planning had been rejected. They did pot want to pay for another department to supervise this work. , •■ . ■« The clerk read a summary of the

lews Mr. R. Day, New Plymouth, expressed on motor regulations at the Local Bodies’ Association, meeting. The chairman said he did not agree with the suggestion that rear reflectors were of little value. He knew of one P l ' stance where a red reflector on a push bike had saved a man’s life. The chairman pointed out the serious dangers of drivers endeavouring to overtake cars when approaching the crest of a hill. He thought a driver going out of a side road on to a, main road should be compelled to go slowly. This would save a great number of accidents. He also advocated that children in schools should receive periodic instruction pointing out the dangers of motoring.

GOOD CASE FOR LEFT-HAND RULE

The engineer stated that Mr. Day had made a good case for giving way to traffic on the left,. The right-hand rule was an American rule, where they drove on the left-hand side. It was claimed that by motorists giving way to the left-hand traffic accidents would be minimised.

The Waitomo County Council’s circular regarding the heavy burden of maintaining main highways was considered. The°chairman said it was not generally known that a section of road which received public grants and became a public works road had the rates from the lands adjoining handed over to the Highways Board. He knew the people of Waitomo were up against it with the large volume of through traffic, the chairman continued. He was still of the opinion that a lot of heavy traffic on roads could be put on railways. Light traffic did not cause miuch damage but heavy traffic did. There should be some means of putting heavy traffic on rails as the amount running parallel to the railways was very great and was detrimental to the country. It would be a benefit to the ratepayers if they could save the roads. Mr. McKay moved that the letter be received. He did not think they knew sufficient about the question. A ratepayer who lost several cans of milk owing to his horse shying at tar barrels on the side of the roadway asked to be compensated for his loss. . The council, however, decided that it could not recognise the claim. Mr. Bridge objected to a charge made by the Power Board for a light at the Otakeho corner. He pointed out that the council had declined to pay for a light at Auroa and he thought that all places should be treated the same. He considered that these lights were of no advantage to motorists. It was decided not to accept liability for the account. The clerk referred to the amount of

rates outstanding, pointing out that over 75 per cent, of the rates were still outstanding. He said a considerable number of ratepayers who had not paid had made promises to pay this month. The amount received to date compared favourably with that received at this time last year and it -was anticipated that the balance would be in hand before it became necessary to take legal measures,