EAST COAST HIGHWAY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 31, 8 December 1944, Page 5

EAST COAST HIGHWAY

QUESTION OF ROUTE

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DISCUSSION

Official confirmation and more detailed plans of the recently announced decision of the Main Highways •onference at Tauranga as to the route to be takc'n by the main highway of the future for the Eastern Bay of Plenty is urgently desired by the Whakatane Chamber of Commerce; Members expreslsedi the strongest views on the position as announced at the annual meeting last week and contended that fuller information was needed immediately ini order to give Whakatane r&'sidents a fair chance of discutssi'ng and reviewing the position from: a local angle.

The, Mr H- G. Warreii expressed the utmost concern that the new route as set out in a recent leader in the Opotiki News would traverse, the Taneatua highway, through the Waimana Gorge and so on to Opotiki. If that was he said Whakatane would once again be by-passed as it had when the railway was first introduced to the

East Coast. Residents would readily understand that, such a risk could not be run again and if the decision was official then he thought it was high time Whakatane woke up to the l'act and helped itself. Years

ago when the Hon. R. Semple j Minister of Works interviewed a deputation on the same matter he had indicated that the most suitable route was. through Whakatane, over the headland to Otirawairere and phope, and thus through Wainui to after bridging the. Ohiwa entrance. Whakatane residents had lelt reassured on this point though it was later found impracticable to bridge Ohiwa as the Minister had desired. The new route, as stated appeared to be in direct contrast witli that originally favoured by the

Public Works, and though it. pro-, vided for the ultimate sealing of the Wainui highway, this was to be a secondary route whilst the, other assumed the role of State Highway

through-'the Waimana Gorge to Wairaana and Nukuhou. If such a scheme were brought declaied Mr Warren Whakatane which w-as a rising town of great importance would be by-passed and suffer as a result all the handicaps of such action.

Mr Kingsley-Smitli sketched "tlie a earlier history of the main highway c route, instancing the prolonged con- i trovcrsy which raged through the i newspapers of the two towns con- i cerned some, six years ago. It would appear that to perpetuate t such a state of unfriendly rivalry \ between Whakatane. and' Opotiki was ; ill-timed and uncalled for at the , present juncture. As a gesture, there- , tore it had been suggested that both < centres, should bury their differen- | ces and hold a mutual conference for the benefit of the Eastern Bay. ; Only by showing an unbroken front to the Government could it be expected tlisit. any national undertaking could be. brought to fruition. | Unfortunately, the overtures weie j not accepted by the Opotiki press in the .spirit in which they Aveie ofl'ered ? and from the counter articles which appeared it was apparent that any claims of .Whakatane on the question of being bypassed by the main highway were adjudged purely of a secondary nature,/ He urged that the business men of this town should be in strong support of the Borough Council in its efforts to gain some voice in the decision as to where the main route should lie. He could not conceive of a greater blow to this town's progress than to be off the main route of through traffic. He instanced the parallel of Fox ton which had been literally at a dead end as a result of being cut out by the. "ma-in highway which ran past some miles out. It was unlair that any local bodies either by conference or individual representation should have the power to decide, the course, of a main route without consulting the town mainly concerned. What was there to stop the highway coming through the neai t of the town and traversing the route originally^planned by the Hon. K. Semple. Whakatane. had evervthing to gain from such a move but on the other hand everything' to lose if the town were bypassed ami tlie main highway ran through to Taneatua either via Puroporo or White Pine Bush. It was high time the residents woke up to the possibilities of their town being ignored. To make this town a converging point for all through traffic was the natural aim of the. largest town in the. Eastern Bay.

(Continued in next column)

Not only that, but the route would open up new' residential areas for Whakatanc by traversing the hills and creating a modern access for Ohopc Beach. All these benefits would be denied the town should the main highway go the route legedly arranged at the recent Tau-i

ranga coiSference.. Mr Warren said it was essential to build up a strong Chamber of . Commerce to represent the business people of Whakatane and to express their opinions forcibly and effectually. It would be. necessary to fight hard for the recognition of the town's claims and the Chamber could not be expected to carry its arguments to a successful conclusion without the fullest support and co-operation of res'dents as. a whole. The. Chamber decided to write the Minister of Works asking if the meeting at Tauranga, as reported } had actually taken place and in the event of this being so ? lor a copy of the resolution fixing the course of the East Coast highway. So far there had been no indication of any recognised authority to thus end as the town of Whakatane. had not been consulted. In tho event of the report being correct, the Chamber desired to register its emphatic protect against the main arterial highway being taken away from the* town. . ,