The Timaru Herald. THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1901.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 3559, 9 May 1901, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1901.

Mr Macintosh, the newly «l«ct«d Mayor, in the course of the address which he delivered on the 23rd of last month, advocated a "bold borrowing policy." Amongst other and very much larger items to which he appropriated the proposed loan •of £50,000, there appeared the comparatively small sum of £ISOO to be devoted to the purchase of a road-roller and a stone-crusher. Towards tine close of his address he referred again to the subject of streetmaking and maintenance. Whatever we may think of other parts of his programme, we heartily agree with his remarks about the streets. He said that the present system was a pettifogging one, and that infinitely better results would be obtained by the use of broken metal, the cost of which he appeared to think might be greatly reduced, as in Oamaru only 2s 6d a yard was paid, whilst in Timaru the cost was Bs. " Some of the main suburban streets were a disgrace to the town. If tkey could not Mend the present system they should end it." All that is : perfectly true, but the Timaru people rest quietly under the infliction. They recognise the evils, and are inconvenienced ■ by them every day, but there are no vigorous protests, - and things are allowed to drift on in the old style. The work of roading the town with broken metal ought to have been undertaken systematically years ago, with the view of ultimately extending it) to every portion of the borough. Every year something might have been done towards the development of the system, and by this time substantial progress would have been made, and the cost of maintenance would have become an ever diminishing quantity. We do not mean that nothing but broken metal should have been used from the commencement; the necessities of the case would have barred the way to the immediate and full adoption of the system, but it should have been gradually extended. A great deal more, care should also have been exercised in the selection of shingle for the streets. Some of the available material is as bad as bad can be, and some is angular and not many degrees inferior to broken metal. But there is no discrimination, and the bulk of the shingle used in Timaru is flat, oval or circular | stuff, warranted not to bind unless mixed with a large proportion of clay. The consequence is that repairs have to be done over and over again at comparatively short intervals of time, and that in dry weather the clouds of dust raised are an intolerable nuisance. We believe that a great many people do not recognise 1 the fact that the dust nuisance is almost entirely due to the use of an excessive quantity of clay in the formation and maintenance of the streets. A more stupid, ineffective, and expensive system could not de devised, and nothing will make us believe that the tightness of the borough finance has been so extreme that the streets could not have been better dealt with. To add to the mischief and increase the cost there is the supplementary system, if such it can be called, of having no finality of levels. A street is made and shingled, let us say, to-day; the chances are that a few months hence a deep layer of clay will be deposited on the shingle for the puri>ose of altering the level, and then on the top more shingle will be dumped down. Could anything be more idiotic and wasteful of the ratepayers' money? When we come to look at the side-walks, there is cause for at least equal censur*. When a side-walk is formed no care is taken to reduce the surface to a moderate degree of smoothness. The whole length of the path is a succession of humps and hollows, often with a difference in level of three or four inches between the one and the

other. It would almost seem that those who are entrusted with the formation of the paths are under the impression that the hills and hollows are a correct feature in such work j either that or the makers are blind or careless. The formation having been accomplished in a fashion, •and a few weeks having been allowed to elapse, during which those using Ihe paths occasionally have to go over the boots in liquid clay, a layer of coarse shingle is deposited and is rarely spread with evenness. After the completion of the work it is generally easy to note the spots where the separate loads have been tipped. These are street improvements in Timaru. The hills and hollows neyer disappear, and a considerable proportion of the shingle never binds, but constitutes a permanent source of inconvenience to pedestrians. To give only one instance; some years ago a portion of the town belt fronting th'e Catholic church property was "improved" I by a thick layer of shingle, some of the ] stones being as big as lemons and the whole of the material being ridiculously unsuitable for such work. The larrikins have by this time used up a good many of the larger stones in their assaults upon each other and upon passers-by, but there still remains a surface of coarse material not knit together but loose as it was when first deposited. It is a case that can be matched in plenty of the streets of Timaru. So miserably bad is the work and so unsuitable the material that pedestrians frequently walk in the road in preference to using the footpaths. We know of no other itbwn in New Zealand where such, an abominable system prevails. It would not be tolerated on a new goldfields township, just being got into something like decent order by a preliminary improvement committee. Yet in an oldestablished Thorough such as Timaru is, the wretched system of road- and pathmaking on which we have commented has to spring up and continues to flourish in full force. If during his Mayoralty Mr Macintosh will use. his influence to bring about a radical change for the better in regard to the streets he will earn the cordial thanks of all the residents of Timaru.