REAL TOWN PLANNING.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2012, 20 March 1914, Page 3

REAL TOWN PLANNING.

RECTANGDXuUt IMA WRONG.. (By Tel*er!i»li.-*PT6sB AtJoolitUijip Auckland, March 19. 'Trenchant criticism 'of;town planning schemes which have been' dominated by "the- eternal straight read and 'right anglo" were made by the Maj*r of Auckland (Mr. C. J. Jarr) this morning in'welcoming the delegates to the.conference of the New ilealattd Institute of Local. Goveriinieat Engineers. Commenting or the i«Qt that.a ga.per on town planning, was. to .be read to the conference slr.' Parr -said: "I am one of those who think we hpx-e ibkm~ dered, almost irreparablyj •in the lay-ing-out of cities and towns in this country.". From TV'i-ut of elementary knowledge of the subject of toivii pal-nning (continued the speaker), hitherto- the layiug-oiit of towns -aM suburbs had been left to the whims of incapable Road Poards assisted -by some, persan or other of very pao? i-n-fc-rmatioji. on the. subject. The result had been that they had gone on withdtit system, plan, rhyme, or reason.' Was H ■ not time that Parliament stepped in and intimated that this should no longer obtain,'and that cities and towns should be governed ■in theii:-groirtli and extension by some system -or plan ? In his judgment.no civil engineer who was an adviser to local authorities _ was worth his job. unless he kept himself abreast of' modern views. "1 hope that the eternal straight road will get a curve in it hefere long, and. that the abominable right angkt will-have so-ftie alteration so, thst the turnings" will. be more lovely to the eye and more useful to the community," continued Mr'. Parr, "Was .the .66ft. road nowadays necessary? At present they had this minimum ' width, irrespective of the traffic which the road might «arr3 ! -—whether; like Queen Street, it carried frhp traffic of 100,000 people, or merely accommodated butchers' and bakers' eartg." In the course of a very comprehensive and interesting paper oil town planning Mr. John Kelly, Southland County Engineer, remarked: "Town pfenning is looked upon by m,an,y as laying out of parks and gardens., erecting monuments, statuary fountains., and curving streets and walks, etc. All this is desirahlo. and necessary, but should not he the main feature of tofwn pfenning. Successful and economical towfe planning should be first laid owt by a municipal engineer, fixed by a land- surveyor, and then beautified by a landsoapo gardener aiid architect. The- engineer must design his work in one comprehensive, schemy from the highest level, of the town to the lowfrst. The result of bad town planning has greatly increased th<* c.oSt of 'works, of all kiiids, and has' brought crowding Avilh its. attendant ■evils."