NEW ACCESS ROAD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 42, 28 July 1939, Page 5

NEW ACCESS ROAD

HARBOUR BOARD'S INTEREST ASSISTING RECLAMATION The Interest of the Whakatane Harbour Board in the course of the proposed irew coastal route was indicated by a fairly lengthy speech by the chairman Mr W. Sumner, at the meeting of businessmen and others last Saturday evening. When the board first took over it shouldere_d a liability of no less thnn £105.000, which had since been reduced 'to £70000. He hoped with other board members that by the means now adopted there would be no need to levy a new rate. RECLAIMING THE MUDFLATS The Government had endowed the board with an area of mudflat, which until a few years 1 ago had yielded no return whatsoever. When the proposal for an aerodrome was first mooted, the board had offered portion of this area for utilisation. The site had been approved at first, but hacl later been turned down. This was unfortunate as he was firmly convinced that the town should have an airport. During the lean years the work of reclamation had been pursued bu't the full value of the land as an asset would not be realised until there was a new access through it. That was why he w T as particularly keen to see the new main highway cross the flats and enter the town. Whakatane had long needed two access roads, and if the new route could be brought about to run r-.long the rear of the present main street shops i't would be doing the town a great service. DISGRACEFUL REAR PREMISES Businessmen were proud of the shop frontages but in many cases th-i rear portions were a disgrace to the town. With a new 7 and up-to-date highway running along the back of the shops, this state of affairs would be rectified. The board hoped that portion of the reclaimed land would be taken over bv the Borough Council for the formation of a w T 'aterfront park or resort. He recalled the impression of Mr Maw\son, director cf townplanning who when he had gone over the route suggested, expressed the opinion that if ever completed it could be made into ore of the finest scenic highways in the Dominion. The P.W.D. engineer at that time had also said that the proposal was to divide the road into two with a central line of trees. With all these reservations from men who had studied the subject, it behoved the people of Whakatane to do all in their power to see that the road f-n-i tcred their town by this route.