HIGHWAYS BOARD VISIT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 44, 30 January 1945, Page 5

HIGHWAYS BOARD VISIT

POINTS TO BE RAISED COUNTY COUNCIL'S VIEWPOINT The forthcoming visit of the Main Highways* Board to Whakatane on February 7 # was discussed' by the County Council at its meeting last Tuesday. The Board advised its intention of only remaining in the town for the purpose of meeting local bodies for 45 and therefore requested that representations. be as brief as possible. Points which the Council will bring up for discussion are as under (a) The Tuanui Hill deviation at (b) the flooding problem on the Whakatane-Taneatua State, higlrway, (c) Station Road flooding, (d) Highway alignment to proposed new bridge at Eldgecumbe. Cr, Luxton drew attention to the bad state of deterioration of all State highways, throughout the county, which were not tar-sealed. There was an urgent need for planers. "What about the course of the East Coast main highway" enquired Cr McCracken. "Don't you think they should be asked to define that?" The Chairman: I don't think they wiU deal with that. That will be left in the hands of the engineers to deal with. Cr McCracken: I don't think it should. It is a matter of vital interest to the people of this district. Cr McCready asked about the future. of and the course or otherwise the main highway, was going to take through the resort. It was lie contended high time the •5 beach was improved. At the present time with greater 'crowds £han ever coming there for the Christmas holidays the roads were ill-formed and there wasn't a decent footpath. The Chairman: I think Ave should leave the controversies alone, but. emphasise that what we want is good road communication between town and town,' wherever the engineers think it best to put it. Any controversy is just a 'handle.' for the Government to sit back and put off the project until the air clears. It was pointed out by the clerk that in most cases usage was the determining factor in the establishment of highways and therefore the most popular routes became inevitably the recognised highways in the end. The matter was then dropped.