WOMEN CITIZENS’ ASSOCIATION MEETS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19251, 12 December 1930, Page 10

WOMEN CITIZENS’ ASSOCIATION MEETS.

SEVERAL INTERESTING ADDRESSES GIVEN* Three addresses were given at the quarterly meeting of the women's branch of the Christchurch Citizens* Association which was held last night. Mrs J. Montgomery presided and the speakers were Lady Wigram, who described traffic conditions in England, Mr W. Hayward, who spoke on shelters in Cathedral Square, and Mr A. 11. Bridge, whose subject was the purposes of town planning. It was decided to make a grant of £6 6s to the Christchurch Citizens* Association, the parent body of the organisation. The grant was made to help to meet the heavy expenditure which, had been incurred during the year. Excellent Roads. Ladv Wigram said that the first thing that she noted particularly in London was the wonderful driving of the taxis. It was a source of amazement to her to see how the drivers got through the crowded streets. There was little hooting of horns in England. The traffic was very well regulated and the inspectors and policemen w’ere exceptionally kind. Wherever there was a difficult turn, there were carefully placed white signs on the road, which had to be obeyed. These signs were to be found in the most remote places. For pedestrians, there were polite little signs, added Lady Wigram, bearing the legend, “ Please cross here.” The backing of motor vehicles was not allowed at Home, and this involved some difficulty at times. The width of the roads in England was hardly ever more than 26 feet. A great many of them were even less, and there were one or two new roads which were wider. The roads were beautifully kept and one could go from ope end of England to the other without any bumps. The country districts of England had not changed. Every little place in Devonshire, Dorsetshire and Somerset, where she had made a motor tour, had its own little war memorial. Even a little village of three or four cottages had its memorial. In this case it had the very simple inscription, “-To the men of Swire.” Town Planning. The advantages to be gained by the community by a definite system of ' town planning were dealt with by Mr Bridge, who represented the New Zealand Town Planning Institute. Mr Bridge laid stress on the improvement in the health of communities which had adopted town planning and described how it affected the lives of people. He described the methods of zoning and the considerations which led to districts being allocated for special purposes. At the conclusion of the address the speakers were accorded a vote of thanks.