BETTER ROADS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19150, 5 November 1927, Page 12

BETTER ROADS.

A Motoring Necessity. MORE FUNDS REQUIRED. Petrol Tax Supported. (Specially Written for "The Press." ) "Should motorists submit quietly to increased taxation?" This is a question of considerable interest to-day. Our Prime Minister indicates that motorists are not paying an amount which is commensurate with the damage they are inflicting on our main roads. The Minister for Public Works states that unless more money is available the pro* gramme of projected works must be curtailed, and our roads allowed to deteriorate. At the conference of United Chambers of Commerce, held in Christchurch recently, a remit urging the imposition of a further tax upon motorists for reconstructing our roads was defeated, not because there was no necessity for an ambitious roading scheme being put in hand, but for the reason that they did not wish to' ask for more taxation.

QUESTION EXAMINED. Let us examine the question from both sides of the fence. First of all, take the position of local bodies. They are in most cases quite unable to meet the enormously increased cost of main road maintenance, a cost that in some cases has quadrupled within the last few years; the cost still keeps going up, and in place of improvements being made the road is merely kept in fair order, or in gome instances shows definite deterioration,

Naturally the ratepayers interested are calling a halt, and demand that more assistance he given them by the Highways Board. Good roads undoubtedly improve land values, but there is a limit. The property owner whose land lies adjacent to an improved highway finds his distance to the city shortened, and in consequence the value of his land is materially increased; but can anybody seriously suggest that his rates be doubled in consequence of the road he uses being destroyed by the thousands of cars which pass over it?

LAND.QWNERS' POSITION, Is my estimation land-owners cannot, nor should they, he asked to carry the burden of continually increasing maintenance costs. Again, on roads leading to our main centres maintenance costs are mounting so seriously, and the results so inefficient that it is quite apparent that reconstruction must be faced. Are such counties justified in suggesting to their ratepayers that rates be increased in order to form a good road for passing motorists? It is past the time of day to argue whether or not good roads are an investment which pays good dividends to users of the road. We have reached the stage when we know that it costs less money to build good roads than to go without them. If the surface of a road is maintained in good order, the saving of tyres, petrol, springs, and general depreciation must be considerable.

SOUTH ISLAND ROADS. As far as South Island roads are concerned, a great deal more must be spent on them than the Highways Board can, under the present conditions, finance. Where can the necessary additional .financial .assistance come from? From three sources only: the land, the users of the road, and the General, or Consolidated Fund. The land-owner is in the majority of cases paying up to the limit, and little may be expected from that quarter, but both users of the road and the Consolidated Fund might reasonably be asked to bear the additional expense between them. Motorists contribute annually very large slims of money to consolidated revenue, and it is not unreasonable to expect greater assistance from this quarter for permanent work on our highways.

TYKE TAX. In some quarters the tyre tax is being quoted as an ideal taxing medium, but they urge a higher tax on tyres in order to increase the revenue. An increase of tax has been objected to by the Customs Department as being impractical owing to the complications involved. The tyre tax certainly i§ a fair tax in that it measures payment according to usage of, our roads, but we must remember that, when motorists ten years ago advocated a tyre tax, 4000 or 5000 miles was the life of a tyre; to-day the average life could be taken as 8000 to 10,000 miles, and in addition to that tyres are cheaper than they were then; so we are getting more miles for less money, In fact, the revenue produced by the tyre tax has been disappointingly small. PETROL TAX. A petrol tax has been suggested as a supplementary method to the tyre tax-—[lt has since been adopted,*— 4< it seems to bear evenly on all users according to the miles driven. A larger car will do more damage on a road than a small one, and a faster trip will mean greater consumption of petrol than a slow one. Motorists must face the question of contributing more revenue if the roads are to be improved, and it is much better to offer to submit to this than to shilly-shally with the question, and wonder who we can make pay for the roads we are decrying and destroying. The user of the road to-day, howevejr, should not be called upon to provide the whole of the capital cost of reconstructing our roads to something of a permanent type (no road is permanent). Something should be l§ft for the motorist of to-morrow; he should be asked to shoulder a portion of the cost. Our roads t(hday will not carry modern traction; the user receives the greatest benefit from an improved road; the Highways Board must have more revenue to carry out the work we demand; so why hang back, hoping for something to turn up? We have got to pay; let us shoulder our responsibilities and get on with the job. A. E. ANSELL, President, South Island Motor Union. (