BOROUGH AFFAIRS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 78, 10 September 1947, Page 5

BOROUGH AFFAIRS

SEPTEMBER MEETING OF COUNCIL GENERAL BUSINESS The ordinary monthly meeting of the Whakatane Borough Council took place last Monday evening, His Worship the Mayor (Mr B. S. Barry) presiding. Present: Crs. R. Morpeth, C. S. Armstrong, S. S. Shapley, A. J. Canning, H. G. Warren, J. H. B. Warner, J. Creeke, the Electrical Engineer (Mr F. W. Lysaght) and the Foreman-Engi-neer (Mr W. S. Henderson) were also in attendance. Parking of Buses The Traffic Inspector reported that the present method of parking buses near Pohaturoa Rock on Friday evenings was not satisfactory and actally constituted a danger. Nine buses arrived with 300 passengers and in order to stop doubleparking the vehicles were strung out in a line which extended on to the main road again. There was no other suitable site he knew of but he suggested steps might be taken to have the short street next the Para Rubber company closed to traffic. temporarily on Friday evenings, and this would enable sufficient parking space for the requirements of the . taxis operating there and the buses. The matter was referred to the Works Committee. Danger to Pedestrians The inspector also mentioned the fact that drivers often used the short cut through Cadman’s Service Station on the corner of Domain Road and King Street, to the serious danger of pedestrians. There had been several near accidents at night as a result, and he requested that something be done to prevent the practice. The council decided to write the owners of the Service Station requesting that a chain barrier be set up at night to prevent the short cut from being used.

New State Houses J In answer to the recent letter from the council urging that further State houses be erected, the Department of Housing Construction stated that a tender for a further eight new units was now under consideration, while a further tender was also in preparation for early release. Murupara Rail Link The Chamber of Commerce sought the council’s support in its representations to the Minister, for the early construction of the proposed new railway link between Murupara and Edgecumbe as a means of relieving the strain o'n the pumice-based road, now forced to carry the increasing burden of a growing fleet of timber lorries. Cr Morpeth spoke strongly in favour of the letter pointing out that such a link would mean the quick handling of timber and softwood which could be distributed all over the North Island or transported to Tauranga for shipment to Australia. Cr Shapley: How long will this timber supply last? Cr Warren: Indefinitely—for all time.

Cr Canning spoke of , the vast extent of the pine forests on the Kaingaroa Plains. The council gave its unanimous support to the letter and instructed the Clerk to write the Minister accordingly. Threat to Road Access With regard to the river erosion now threatening the road approach to the traffic bridge, the Main Highways Board stated that the flood complained of was only a normal one, such as usually occurred once or twice a year. Steps were taken meanwhile to protect the approaches but until a local Control Board had been set up under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Board, it could not be held that the matter was the responsibility of the Highways Board. The Mayor: If that was a normal flood, I’d like to know what’s going to happen when we get an abnormal one! '

Cr Shapley: The erosion is now so bad that you can throw a stone from the road into the river. The Mayor: The road‘is likely to go any time. It is imperative that we do something. It was decided to write the Rivers Control Council drawing its attention to the very serious threat to the town’s only road access. Closing of Pound When the Foreman-Engineer reported that the Pound paddock had been seriously affected by river erosion and that it was now no longer a suitable area for that pur-

pose, Councillors considered the recommendation that it should be closed. It was stated that most of the stock impounded there came from the County roads and that these animals had continuously broken down the stopbanks of the stream which ran through the paddock and which was liable to flood the surrounding residential area. The most recent batch of 21 horses had been responsible for considerable damage. The Mayor pointed out that very few cattle were now grazed within the Borough and the pound was now probably outdated. It was decided to adopt the committee’s recommendation.