MAIN EAST COAST ROUTE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 54, 6 March 1945, Page 5

MAIN EAST COAST ROUTE

I OF STATE HIGHWAY B REPRESENTATIONS TO BOARD ■ ' .DELEGATES IN CONFERENCE I; "This Board is keen to work ■ "in harmony with the local bodies M interested in any particular ■ problem, and' in this case (the H East Coast State Highway) there I will be no exception to the rule!," I : _ said Mr T. D Deputy ChairI man of the Main Highways H Board l at the conference of deles' -gates at Whakatane yesterday. *'You have a problem here in . which we are interfsited but we H will be guided to a large extent ■ by our engineers. When however we have all the necessary data before us you can rely upon us M to go thoroughly and fairly into ■' the question and select a route which we hope will be satisfac- ■ tory to all parties concerned." ■. The above observation may be said ■ ito crystalise the attitude of the ■ Uoard towards the very vexed ques- ■ tion of the course of the future East H Coast State Highway following a ■ Jree and open expression of opinion toy town and country speakers repreB,;senting Whakatane and Opotiki ■ business and County interests. ■ The meeting may be described as ■ ipossibly the best and most construe- ■> tive yet held in this connection a ■ reason largely due. to a modification ■ of expression and a genuine effort ■ "towards co-operation by all parties. ■ .It is unfortunate that the suggesW tion made by this paper some weeks ■ -ago that representatives; from both H towns should meet by way of reachHMng a common understanding and a ■ mutual was torpedoed by ■ "the Opotiki News in an effort to ■ to a perfectly friendly ges- ■ .fure an ulterior motive, with Wha ■ katane's gain as its end and Opo- ■ disparagement at its endeav- ■ County's Representations ■ After welcoming the members of 1 ■ Board, Mr J. L. Burnett who 1 set out the County's repre- | ■ ;sentations under four headings and J ■ asked that each be taken full cog-* ■ nisance of as pressing local needs. 1 ■ The Turanui Iliil deviation at Wai- ] ■ "2iui ) he said, presented a problem ' I "which the County had the greatest ' ■ difficulty in solving, unless by way \ ■ •of a diversion of route. The large 1 ■ slip which had occurred last year 1 necessitated the expenditure of ( ■ something like £3000, with still H"very unsatisfactory results. He ask- \ Med that full consideration be given 1 ■£o the diversion he had named in ( ■ order to make for a better graded * ■ •and safer route. Number two, conH cerned the flooding of Keegan's cor- £ Huer on the Whakatane-Taneatua ' BpMain Highway. Number three the ■ flooding of Station Road } and the ■ .persistent efforts to relieve the posi- * ■tion. Number four the. access to the € new river bridge at Edge- * H ciimbe where the settlers were estab-i c ■ lishing a War Memorial rccreation x ■aground and were keen that the high- t ■ way did not interfere, with their t ■ plans. :1 H Mr Burnett also pointed out that 1 ■ •Che ma'j highways in this area were a severely for lack of main-i| ■ tenance, which he realised was due 1 a large measure to Avar condi- ; but nevertheless would like to 1 Isee rectified. When the County's s for one year liail dropped * ■ from £400,000 to £90,000, it could 1 ■ be realised just how much the gen • 1 ■►eral 'decline had been. Tour of Review ■ # Mr T. D. Ball, in reply said that ■ the gathering was'one of the larg■est the Board has met on its present £ tour. The Board was at present c ■ merely reviewing the work of main- = ■"tenance which it w 7 as undertaking 1 Has owilfg to its financial difficulties 1 ■•it was quite impossible for it to un- 0 ■ dertake any new work at present. s ■He was afraid the position would * ■ not improve until the war was over ■ljut as it. was thought that the end v ■ was now in sight members; felt, it * ■ their duty to undertake the tour as A means of reviewing possible un- y ■dertakings for the future. He underthat there was a considerable v of opinion in the district Has to what route the proposed State 1 ■Highway should take. The Board c ■would not take, any action in this a ■respect until it -was fully satisfied it had selected the very best F ■route available. It was. anxious to e ■define highways and would do so on 1 Hihe earliest possible occasion. It Hwas however somewhat limited in t scope until so many of itr en- c now serving with the /niliauthorities were demobilised in civil life again. s; Borough Interests t ■ For the Whakatane the n (Mr B. S. Barry) said that 1 ■|2ie townspeople had been greatly K

purturbed by a report which stated that the new State Highway had a propo&cd new route to Taneatua, yla White Pine Bush. This anxiety \vas increased owing to a former promise from the Minister of Works some years ago that the town would have a waterfront road through the. town and over the hilis to Ohope Beach, He emphasised the fact that the town depended upon its road service as a means of access as the rail was several miles in the County. It had appeared as if the highway were about .to follow the same course. Main road access was vital to Wha'katane, which was a town commercially sound and with a prospective growth in the. future. Mentioning th c river bridge, he added that this structure was held together largely by the amount of bitumen placed on it from time to time. Whakatane was keen to see. a new traffic bridge giving access: to the Paper Mills to which some 200 workers mainly with their homes in Wliakatane travelled daily. With the Harbour Board the Borough Council and Chamber of Commerce was in accord with the proposal to bring the State Highway into the town by one of two either by thc waterfront or by the Maraetotara Gorge. In this they were supported by the local branch of the Labour Party the Paper Mills: Workers'' Union the Te Puke Chamber of Commerce and by most of the business interests of the town.

Distance from Opotiki He added that thc proposed new route Avould cut off 1(3 miles of the present distance 'between Wliakatane and Opotiki.. If it were not possible to grant a State. Highway in this connection, the Borough would be quite happy with a main highway provided it was not expected to meet the usual third of the cost, though it would be prepared to meet the quarter maintenance charge in the future. Mr R. W. Schofield spoke for the Whakatane Chamber of Commerce, which lie described as a live body with a good membership. Drawing attention to Whakatane's future, he declared that its prospects -were as good if not better than any other Borough of its size in the Dominion. It behoved the Board therefore to take the long-sighted view and to provide the best road service possible. for the future. He mentioned the necessity for having a good coastal road for defence purposes in order to supply a means for our necessarily small armeft forces to be quickly on the scene.

"We don't want to interfere with the rights of Opotiki," concluded Mr SchofieKL "They need their access to their railhead but we' have to remember that their railhead will not. always be so far away. We should take, the long view and do the best for everybody." Declaring that the Wanui Road was now muc;h worse than it was twenty years ago when he first started farming in that district, Mr White put in a strong piea for recognition of the rights of those settlers who were struggling to carry on under the greatest difficulties. The formation of a highway through Wainui and major improvements to their present road would see the end of all difficulties and open up for better development a splendid farming area. He added that it was. not logical or reasonable to have a main road running parallel to the railway such as would be the case through the Waimana Gorge in future, and urged that attention be given to the practical alternative route through Wainui.

Voice of Opotiki Mr Gault said he represented the Opotiki Borough and County inter-i ests;, and said that he was in no way opposed to the construction of a good highway to Whakatane. What the Opotiki people were concerned about however was the realignment and sealing of the route from Taneatua. Opotiki had not participated in the rich feast of tarsealed roads which took place just prior to the war. They had had to be contented with the crumbs. In Opotiki there were some 50 miles of State. Highways, and only a small section of this was sealed. He did not care whether it w r as a State Highway to Taneatua as long as it was tarsealed. The route was an important one, carrying a large amount of stock and goods at all times during the year, whilst it Avas thickly settled practically the Avhoie of its length, except for the Waimana Gorge, section. They would like to see the Wainui Road formed but thought the other route should have prior consideration.

M.Ps. Observations Mr Sullivan M.P. said he must * ) support the Mayor's contention that this district had possibly the AA'orst main highways in New Zealand. They Avere no credit to the Main Highways Board and he felt that

they had not had spent on them the heavy amount of road taxation which went from this district. He urged that, efforts be made to force the Government to contribute a greater measure of the petrol tax for Highway Board purposes instead of appropriating it to the consolidated fund. With regard to the respective claims of Whakatane and Opotiki for the main highway he agreed that both centres had a right to such recognition. For this reason lie AA'ould Avelcomc a final decision by the Board as to the course the highway should follow so that it con id be fixed for all time and thus overconfe local differences. People Avould then be happy in the knowledge that when funds Aver c available it Avould be constructed. He personally would liked to have heard more of the County's attitude on the matter. It Avould have given Board members a better indication of AA'hat the district desired.

Mr Burnett said the County had always advocated the best road access it could have. Rehabilitation Speaking for the Board } Mr Wyn.yarcl' said that the Board's object in touring round the was not entirely to road access for the various toAA'ns but also to con•9 struct schemes' for rehabilitation after the. war, a task ? Avhich it had been asked to go into by the Government in conjunction Avith the P.W.D. As mentioned before its funds at the present time were lirni ited and its activities were purely those of maintenance. Some idea of the manner in AA T hich its finances had shrunk Avoukl be gained from the fact that in 1939 it had been able to allocate and in 1944 only £90 } 000. Mentioning State Highways. he agreed that the main objjective Avas to supply arterial routes between one town and another but in many cases it had been necessary to bypass toAvns to save congestion of traffic. These towns had not offered any objection because they realised that it Avas to their interests to haA'e it so and further that the aA-erage State highAvay traffic brought little or nothing to the town by AA'ay of commercial return. HoAvever he Avould not say that these points AA'ould necessarily weigh Avith the Board in the present instance of selecting the course of the higlnvay between Whakatane and Opot'iki.

Mr W. Morrison (Board representative of North Island Counties) said he haid been impressed with the progress of the district and struck with the moderation of the demands made by speakers. He would not agree that the highways in the Eastern Bay were the worst in New Zealand. That was a common claim made by all counties where they had stopped. Eightythree per cent, of the rural traffic used the State Highways, and therefore money had to be spent proportionately. He realised the high rating on the farmer today, and pointed out that had the Highways Board not been created it Avould I > have been impossible for him to have carried the full cost v of sealed highways. Other Districts Worse Off Mr. Scott (Chief Accountant P.W.D.) said the. Board hoped in the near future to be able to eon-, tinue with its full programme Avhich had been temporarily suspended owing to the war. He knew the Eastern Bay of Plenty thoroughly, and considered that there Avere other districts infinitely worse off. He showed how the severe war-time decline in funds had made it impose sible for the Board to carry out anything other than maintenance and emergency undertakings. The financial position of the board Avould have to be seriously investigated in the future if it was; to be expected to embrace, the programme of works it had in mind. He did not know! whether the Whakatane Borough and County were in absolute agreement regarding the course of the East Coast highAvay. If the new proposal through the. Borough were agreed upon he did not think the existing two State highways in the County could be still recognised. In any case he foresaw in both Whakatane and Tauranga, two rapidiy growing tOAvns which it might be advisable to by pass with main road traffic, in order to saA'e. congestion. If for instance in a hundred years two large coastal citics Avere still the converging points of all the coastal traffic, people Avere quite open to query the foresight of those who planned the routes. There Avas also the question of costs. He felt that the Wainui Road should be improA r ed and it Avas a question of

mutual agreement between all sections to select the best route and to represent it to the Board. Alter the Board members had answered several questions the meeting closed with a vote o| thanks: to the chair,,