Borough of Dargaville.

Progress, Volume XIV, Issue 11, 1 July 1919, Page 548

Borough of Dargaville.

Suggested Improvement. We illustrate a suggested improvement to the Borough of Dargaville, which was exhibited at the recent Town Planning Exhibition held in Wellington by Mr. Reginald Hammond. The suggested scheme is for the re-planning of the commercial and civic portion of the town on proper town planning lines. It shows a civic centre, a new site for the railway terminus, extensive waterfront improvements, and other town planning suggestions. The Civic Centre is located in Normanby street, and opens up to the river by a wide vista. It is designed with a circular open-way space, surrounded

with. the municipal 'group and other public buildings, hrom the centre spread the radiating streets, which lie in the most suitable direction for the development or me commercial area. - The street's will vary in width according to traffic conditions. A proposed war memorial is the central feature. • Esplanade and Embankment. The waterfront is far from any town planning ideal, and this is the

first sight that greets the visitor on approaching the town by water. The scheme provides for the planning of the waterfront for both pleasure and business poses, .mi esplanade, two chains wide, is shown, and an artistically designed embankment with a sunk railway below. . > A new wharf of ferro-concrete is also provided, and will harmonise with the general embankment

scheme. It has sufficient berthing and storage accommodation for all necessary shipping. There is also a floating pier for small craft.

Railway. The present railway runs through the business portion of the town and intersects the principal streets. The suggested new railway terminus is located near the civic centre, and the railway will follow the river bank practically all the way within the borough, and therefore, will not intersect any streets. A suggested suburban railway is shown, and it is in this direction that it is proposed to connect up with the North Auckland Main Trunk railway, a matter, of course, for the railway authorities to decide. A sunk railway to the wharf is indicated on the drawings.

Several garden patches are shown in the commercial area, and it is intended that street planting should be carried out in all streets, and so follow on the lines of the ideal garden city. The architectural treatment of the whole scheme is, of courso, only suggestive, for the purpose of illustration.

A SUGGESTION FOR A POST OFFICE INSTEAD OF TE ARO AND COURTENAY PLACE POST OFFICES—By J. JOHNSON.