MAINTENANCE OF ROADS

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1932, Page 11

MAINTENANCE OF ROADS

WORK IN TARANAKI COUNTY ( MONTHLY MEETING OF COUNCIL. REPORTS ON THE WORK IN JULY. The monthly meeting of the Taranaki County Council was held at New Plymouth yesterday. Present: Crs. S. Vick-, ers, W. Hall, W. Cartwright, R. Wood and L. Carey. On being voted to the chair in the absence of Cr. J. S. Connett, Cr. Vickers remarked that that was the first time the chairman had been absent since his association with the council. The New Plymouth Borough Council wrote stating that it had passed a resolution that the Taranaki and Inglewood County Councils be informed that in respect to electric light poles erected by the borough council in their respective counties the borough council was agreeable to the decision adopted at a conference between the chairman of the executive of the New Zealand Counties” Association and the executive of the Electric Power Boards’ Association. It suggested that similar arrangements be made between the borough council ami the Taranaki and Inglewood county councils on the following lines: “Thar it be a recommendation to the affiliated power boards that the costs of removal of electric power poles from county roads roads be shared equally as between the county and the power board so far as minor 'road operations arc concerned; that no road operation which involves the removal of more than ten poles be considered a minor operation; that in cases where the removal of more than ten poles is involved the question of the proportion in which the costs of removal are to be borne as between the county and the power board be settled by arbitration. The county council decided to pay half of the. cost of removal of electric light poles and requested the borough to confer with the council before proceeding to erect poles on any road under the jurisdiction of the council.

CIRCULAR ROAD RACE. The Taranaki Circular Road Race was to Ke run again this year on October 22 and the event would be the Australasian Cycle Road championship, which was being held in New Zealand for the first time, wrote Mr. D. George, secretary of the New Plymouth League Cycle Club. The club asked permission to race over the county roads and requested that the main road from Mangorei to the racecourse be closed to traffic to prevent hindrance by motors to the competitors. The council decided to notify the club that it had no objection to the use of the roads fox’ the race. Mr. H. C. Bishop requested the council to undertake the metalling of the remaining portion of the Mahoetahi Road, Brixton, to bridge the gap between the two metal portions near the entrance to his property. If the council would crush and spread the metal, he would cart the metal from the pit to the road. The matter was left in the hands of the riding councillors. The State Forest Service forwarded £1 7s, the amount due to the county as “fifths” of revenue derived from State Forest royalties in the county for the period ended June SO, 1932. The department asked the county to indicate how it proposed the sum should be expended. The council decided that the money should be ■ expended on the. Sanders Road. Mr, L. Goble regretted, owing to a miscalculation, that he was unable to fake the Baker Road contract. Under the special circumstances, the council decided to refund the contractor’s deposit of £5. The Commissioner of Transport wrote asking the council for its views on the representations made to the Government that heavy motor-vehicles owned by | farmer’s solely for the transport of the farmer’s produce and supplies should be exempted from the payment of heavy traffic fees. The Commissioner pointed out that if effect were given to the representations made the revenue of local bodies for road maintenance purposes might be reduced by £30,000, and that would mean either that the rates would have to be increased or the expenditure on road maintenance reduced by £30,000.The council decided to approve of the exemption of heavy traffic fees on farmers’ vehicles, as previously agreed by the Taranaki Local Bodies’

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF. The Commissioner of Unemployment, Mr. G. C. Godfrey, acknowledged the receipt of a report on the operations ot the county in the “over the fence scheme.” The Commissioner noted that, nearly 140 men were employed “over the fence” in the county and that at the date of writing about 200 acres K of hitherto unproductive land had been cleared up. The importance of bringing, such an area of land into productivity could be appreciated only by farmers, and the county would be interested to learn that a large number of the 135 counties in New Zealand were similarly engaged under that and other of the board's schemes in work which, . the board felt, would result in an appreciable increase in the primary products of the Dominion. There could be scarcely any doubt that the subsequent increased production from the reclaimed areas would have considerable influence for the better upon the unemployment position. The overseer, Mr. G. Meredith, reported that the rotary had been worked 124 days at the Mutton' Track depot, crushing 11345 yards of metal and screenings. Metal had been carted from the Henwood Road pit to Egmont Road (Earp’s corner) amounting to 48 yards; 58 yards to School Road, Hillsborough and 36 yards to King Road. Four and a half yards of metal had been carted from. Fitzroy quarries to Smart Road and six yards to Upper Carrington Road. Metal from the railway pit, Sentry Hill, amounting to 503 yards, had been delivered. The staff had also been engaged assisting the surfacemen patching metal on the Tate, Waitara, Richmond, Te Arei, Corbett, Kelly, Manutahi, Smart and Egmont Roads. Material carted during the month with the

county lorries was 1805 yards of metal and screenings and 174 yards of clay, a total of 1979 yards. •The carpenter had been engaged with the repairs to the small bridge on York Road, where new stringers, joists, decking and hand rails had been put in. He had also been making seats and building frames for covering the lorries. In the Mangorei riding, under relief work, thd formation and grading on the Maude Road had been completed. The gang was at present widening part of the Korito Road. The surfacemen had been attending to watertables and patching metal where necessary on the Kent, Korito, Mangorei, Carrington, Baker, Saxton and Hurworth Roads. The asphalt had been banked in places on the Junction Road. Relief work had been continued in the Waitara Riding on the Bertrand Road. A total of 17 chains had been graded and metalled and further grading was now being done from the end of the metal to the foot of the hill. The remetalling on Egmont Road of approximately 100 chains had been completed. The motor roller had been scarifying and rolling on the Waitara and Tate Roads. Metal patching had been done where necessary and watertables had received attention on practically all the roads in the riding. The asphalt on Devon Road had had the edges banked with gravel and the side tracks had been patched. In the Omata Riding the surfacemen had been attending to watertables and banking metal and asphalt on the Hurford, Waireka, Pheany, Sealy, Frankley, Cowling, Veal and Elliott Roads. A portion of surfaceman Seamark’s time had been taken up supervising the relief work at the Waireka cemetery. In the Okato Riding water tables had been attended to on the Lepperton Junc-tion-Hawera highway, the asphalt had been banked in places, and side tracks had been patched. On Puniho Road the contractor - had practically completed the metalling on the upper portion. With relief work good progress had been made with the formation and grading on upper Plymouth Road. The surfacemen had been engaged metal patching and attending to watertables and culverts on practically all the roads in the riding. The motor roller was working on upper Puniho Road rolling the new metal. A protection fence had been erected on both sides of the filling at Bett’s Hill on Main South Road. Extra wires had been put on the fence and about three chains of new fence erected at the Stony River deviation. The council decided that the bank below Mr. T. Sampson’s property on Egmont Road be removed. The inspector reported that in conjunction with the borough inspectors he had carried out raids on motorists with a view of catching drivers. A dozen unlicensed drivers were found operating motor vehicles. A great number of drivers travelled without their licenses. If these only gave a thought to the trouble it gave themselves and the inspectors they would exercise more care and. see that they had their licenses with them. Though they always gave motorists reasonable time to produce their licenses, it was not necessary for the inspectors to do so. '

WORKERS IN TRUCKS. With regard to the passenger carrying capacity of the county trucks ho found they had seating accommodation for 20 passengers in the body and one in the cab, making a total of 21 passeneera for each vehicle. The matter of a ton trucK did not enter into the number of passengers carried. A ton truck could be licensed to carry as many workmen as seating accommodation was provided for. There was still a fair number of stock at large on the roads. Though he had not taken action against offenders up to the. present, if a marked improvement was not shown during the coming month he would do so. A motor-cycle had collided with a cow on the Devon Road during the month. Both riders of the cycle were injured, though not seriously. Heavy traffic licenses were paid with the exception of one. That man he had given to July 30 to pay. All farmers on the South Road with gorse and growth on the cuttings had been notified to have them cleared. The “over the fence” scheme was still occupying a fair amount of his time. It was working smoothly now and good work was being done. Practically every farmer was well satisfied with the work. The. following fees had been collected for the month; Heavy traffic licenses £43 14s lOd, motor drivers licenses £5 15s, fines £2 10s, driving fees 4s, a total of £52 3s lOd. In the afternoon Messrs. 8. C. Judd and Mr. Longstaff, Inglewood, waited on the council requesting it to make a deviation through the county reserve on the King Road. The matter was referred to the chairman and Cr. Wood to make an inspection of the locality. Mr. W. Bint, Huirangi, waited on the council requesting it to provide access to land in the Okawa block at Huirangi. The matter was referred to the riding councillors.