DANGEROUS OUTWARD BUS ROUTE

Waikato Independent, Volume XLIV, Issue 6076, 14 July 1947, Page 4

DANGEROUS OUTWARD BUS ROUTE

TEE EDITOE'S COMMENT.

'As. reported in last Friday's issue the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce has forwarded to the Borough Council a petition signed by about 300 people and the executive of the Chamber claims that the signatories represent a good cross-section of public opinion and of users of the buses to and from Hamilton. The petition prays that the Council change the existing outward bus route back to the original route of straight up Victoria Street from the depot. This petition to the Council, which was readily signed by the people, follows previous approaches by the Chamber to have the existing route changed back. The Chamber executive is unanimous in its opinion that the present tortuous route is a dangerous one, especially the sloping turn from Alpha Street into Lake Street, and that sooner or later there will be a serious accident, involving the possible capsize of a bus. Not so long ago a representative of the Independent deliberately rode in the outgoing bus to check the danger element at this corner and is satisfied there are good grounds for the petition on this score alone.

But in addition to this danger element there is no occasion in 'CamCambridge for the outgoing buses to take a route that involves crossing five intersections when they can proceed straight along one of the widest streets of any country town in the Dominion.

We believe that when the Traffic Inspector made the recommendation to the Borough Council he did so as a result of the influence of his Department that buses should, as far as possible, be taken out of main streets, but the situation in a town like Cambridge, with such a broad main highway is quite a different one to that of say, Huntly, where buses still go straight through and stop in a far narrower main street than that of Cambridge. In a city like Hamilton it is, no doubt, desirable that buses should be taken out of the main streets as far as possible, though the convenience and care of the travelling public must not be lost sight of. There is an inconsistent aspect associated with]the subject, too, and that is while the buses from Cambridge to Hamilton have to take this torturous route, the Road Services' vehicles are permitted to continue to use Victoria Street. Surely if the ban applies to the Cambridge-Hamilton buses then it should also equally apply to the Road Services' buses, if the objection angle to the straight course through Victoria Street is on the score of utilising parking space.

No, we can see no logical reason for the route for outward buses ever being changed and we join with the Chamber of Commerce and the 300 signatories who, apparently, are of the opinion that the existing route is dangerous and quite unsatisfactory. In view of the considerable area of parking space that is readily available in the vicinity of Victoria Street we can see no reason why a sufficient area could not be set-aside for an outward bus stop at or near the Bank of New South Wales.

, The matter will, however, now come before the Council again and we do think the members of that body will be studying the best interests of all the people if they give the petition a favourable reception. It is known that the Council was previously devided on the matter and that the decision to adopt the Traffic Inspector's recommendation was on the score that he is an experienced official in the matter of traffic and its regulations. We believe that the inspector was trying to carry Out the wishes of his department, but we do think he unwisely decided on the existing route and that a change from the previous route was unnecessary in the case of Cambridge. We know it is desirable, so far as it is reasonable, for members of local bodies to support the recommendations of their trained officers, but in this case we consider it was unreasonable to alter the original outward route and to take vehicles first across a five intersection centre and then to indulge in the tortuous and dangerous route that now exists.