THE BOROUGH STREETS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 144429, 17 July 1914, Page 2

THE BOROUGH STREETS.

Nothing is exercising tho minds of borough ratepayers at the present time more than tho conditi6u of the streets, unless it bo tho prospoct of a heavy increase in the rates nest year. Tho streets are worse now than, they have been for many years, and if the weather' continues broken through the spring it will require very heavy expenditure indeed to restore them to normal condition. A day or two ago our attention was directed to the Oar-fingtott--Eoadjr .which*. .thnaogh*Jksgpd^

town, is in a truly deplorable state. Something, it is true, is being done to keep it passable for traffic, but it is taking a cartload of metal to-day to repair' boles which a barrowloatl would havo .repaired a lew weeks ago, while carting metal at this time of the year is doing almost' more harm than tiro metal carted can repair. Moreover, repairs effected under these conditions aro unsatisfactory because much of the motal is soon lost again in mud-holes. Something, however, has to be done to keep tho road open. The fault lay in deferring tho patching until winter set in, instead of doing it in tho lino autumn weather. Tho Carrington Road is only one of the many borough streets which aro in a shocking condition, while others again arc just on tho point of breaking up. The fact is that the streets have been systematically starved at the very period of tho year when they should have received attention. At the same time there appears to havo been, and to still- be, a feverish haste to got rid of the £42,000 loan raised for extensions and improvements. On. tho same Carrington Road there may be .seen chains ol concrete kerbing almost buried far .below the level ui the iootpath. AVe gather that this kerbing was done last year and that nothing at all has been done since tho end of the year to finish the job. Unfinished footpaths may be found in ever so many streets in the borough, and their number is being added to, so that it, appears likely that when the money allocated to this particular class of work is exhausted there will still remain a groat deal of finishing work to he done. Another instance of the extraordinarily wasteful system of carrying out work is afforded in the laying of now water mains. In tho Fitzroy district considerable lengths have been laid without fire-plugs being provided where they should be. An explanation offered to us is that when the pipes were ordered the plugs and connections were overlooked, and that these will be put in when they come to hand. If this is so, why in the name of commonsense was not the laying of the mains deferred? In at least one case, we underetand, and probably in others, the new main has not been connected with tho old and is therefore not in use, though it has been laid some time. AA’hen the firo-plugs come to hand it will cost a great deal more to put them in than if the laying of the mains had been deferred until the plugs could be inserted simultaneously. Tho need of a strong guiding hand is very urgent, and no one will envy the task that faces the new Mayor in restoring something like order and system in tha spending of the ratepayers’ money.