HATAITAI TUNNEL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1285, 14 November 1911, Page 5

HATAITAI TUNNEL.

RATEPAYERS MEET. AN OUTSIDE ENGINEER TO B0 CONSULTED, Interest which residents of Ilalailni and Kilbirnio -take in tho project to mako n second tunnel for tiytlic between their suburbs and the citv was shown by tho large attendance at a meeting hold at Jlatailai lust night to discuss the scheme. Mv. Leigh Hunt, chairman of tho ICilbirniu Municipal Electors' Association, Presided. Tho chairman, in introducing tho subject to the mooting, recited tho history of the construction of tho present tunnel, >md of the later agitation for a new tunnel. Tho meeting had been called bocause tho cemmitfee of the Ratepayers' Association, who hod done all they could to |«rstiade tliu Citv Council to undertake the work of making n tunnel through Imm " <m fo'ind themselves ut dead end. iho cily engineer had reported upon a tunnel project, but his report dealt with, ft very dilloront tunnel troin that which had been asked tor by Kilbirnio people. Ills tunnel was to cost J70.030; it was to on n, ra i a 110lut Sussex Square, to go through a portion of the Collegn giounds, and emergo from the hill on tho Killurnio side at Goer Street., He had also suggested that the residents of Kilbirnio should form their district into a u atl /?p aroa P a y Interest on the 111, (1, V° n ? s P cakor > ventured to suggest that that was a mattei for the Citv Council, and not for their expert officers, and that the council had displayed soma weakness 111 handing tin, matter over to the engineer for final decision. The Mayor had promised a report on the possibility of widening tho present tunnel, or of laying a footpath through it. That report |,?IT. cn The present, tunnel, ho declared, was the most nicturesquo blunder that had ever m„i P- r Pctrated in this city, in !{J was understood H nli I 1° nnC . 1 ' b,lt lt hlid nOVCI '- theless been built without ono. Who was to blamo no ono laiwv, but the Kilbirnio people had been wilfully and disgracefully betrayed over the proposal. The cost °f the tunnel had been -CIG.OOO, and of that amount £10,000 had been contrmuted by tho Hataitai Land Company, "t n repaid by the present residents einnn n* ? ho , llaJ obtained ■£3000 worth of metal from the tunnel, ?.!S. ns nrt °° st to tho citv only ■i'liOOO, But tho tunnel hud saved money to tho city by making an easy way for tho passage of water pipes. So that tho tmmel had really been presented to tho city by the residents of Hntaitai. Tho matter of better access to the city was ono of supreme importance to Iho suburb, tor, as the years went by, other suburbs would go ahead, and Jlatailai' (because n f its isolation) would stand still, there was now only one more lino of ac-. turn left open to the committee. Thoy could not any longer liopo to convert Mr. Morton i the council were apathetic and inclined to shelve the matter; and tho committee v.ero of opinion that the best tiling to do was to get an opinion from an independent engineer. It was not any use to employ a second-rato man—lie must be a man whose opinion could bo safely pitted ogainst that of Mr. Morton. To do this the committee must have help from the residents in getting tho sinews of war, Tho cost would bo about .£IOO, and if evory one of the 330 landowners in Jiataitni contributed os„ this would provido ,iSO. Thorn ought then to be 110 difficulty about getting tho balance. There was one other alternative, and that must l>e the last alternative, and that was to rate the district specially. If anything of tho sort was thought of the district should bo mado very wide. Ho moved the following resolutions:— (1) That a report bo obtained from a competent engineer 011 the question of a road traffic tunnel on llie most suitable route f ronl t' l<! city to servo Hataitai, Kilbiroic, and tlio surrounding district'. (2) That tho cost of tho said sur- , vey bo borno equally by all land- '» owners, not to exocojrfc. per section. (3) That Messrs. Seville, Mitchell, Fleming, Arens, and tho mover, be appointed trustors of tho fund, with power to utiliso same:— (a) In payment for engineer's report, ib) In subsequent expert advicc, (c) lu payment for any other services in connection with the tunnel prospcct, (4) That tho selection of an engineer and all arraaigomeuts in connection with tho proposal bo loft to the committee of the Hataitai Municipal Electors' Association, with instructions to ■ lay the said report before a subsequent general meeting of residents. The resolutions wero seconded by Mr. C. 11. Seville. . Mr. \V. M'Goldrick supnorted them at some length. He alio slated that tho present tunnel could have been doubled in width at nil additional cost of only .£4OOO. Tho discussion was continued by conversation, which method tho chairman specially invited. A few asked for infor« mation as to details, and all were plainly interested. Tho resolutions wero carried unanimously.