KARANGAHAPE BUSINESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 227, 25 September 1928, Page 8

KARANGAHAPE BUSINESS.

TO-DAY'S MEETING.

TOWN PLANNING ADDRESS

The fortnightly lunch meeting of the Karangahape Road Business Promotion Society was led to-day in the Karo Tea Rooms, the president, Mr. M. J. Bennett, in the chair. After lunch a monologue was contributed by Miss Thomas, the piano accompaniment being played by Miss Asher. The speaker of the day was Mr. E. V. Blake, civil engineer and surveyor, who addressed members on the subject of "Town Planning." The speaker commenced by indicating the comprehensive scope of a proper system of town planning. Town planning, he emphasised, was not a scheme for pulling down a city to rebuild it at a, ruinous expense. A better definition was that it involved deciding "what you would like to do when you get 'the chance." He quoted a Chicago authority to show that town planning was sound commercial economy, as it fostered the growth of a city, rendered it easier for various industries to be developed, and made for a higher type of citizenship. A feature requiring attention in Auckland was that faulty subdivisions in the past had made it difficult to plan streets and thoroughfares in a scientific manner. Outlining the provisions of the New Zealand Town Planning Act, he said it was far from perfect, but was, nevertheless, a most valuable measure. Amongst weaknesses was that it left too much to chance in the case of a local body which was unsympathetic. A local body could, under its provisions, plan badly or refrain from planning. He claimed that every local body should be compelled to take out a contour survey of its area, which would prove invaluable for all time. Illustrating his point, he showed a plan of Papatoetoe, where he 'had, after making a contour survey, reorganised the transport system. It had been possible, he said, to add 16 miles to the street system of the borough without unduly interfering with existing properties and without involving the borough in any great expense. The new system was so devised that future slums would be obviated and many property owners had obtained additional valuable frontages. An important aspect was that a new road linked up the district with East Tamaki. The speaker quoted Prjfessor Knight as a leading authority on zoning.