THE BASIN RESERVE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2271, 3 October 1914, Page 5

THE BASIN RESERVE

IMPROVEMENT SCHEMES DISCUSSED. . . •At a meeting of the' Citizens' Carnival Association' Executive Committee, the question of the manner in which the profit realised,-from the- last carnival should be spent was once more consider, ed. At a previous meeting it was practically decided that the amount—some £700 odd—should bo expended in effecting improvements to that Cinderella of tho city reserves —the. Basin Reserve, and it was decided that definite .action should be postponed until the City Engineer ,(Mr. W. H. Morton) could find time to submit plans in respect to * a proposal to set the outer fence back to a line behind the plantation which at. present surrounds the greater part of the'ground. The. plans, which were placed before.the meeting, showed thefence moved back 14ft. from tho present alignment in Buckle and Ellice" Streets on the northern side, the same on the southern side,', and '[ 24ft. back on the Dufferin Street side. This gave a width of 80ft. between the fence and the building line on the opposite side of the streets, on the northern' and southern sides of the reserve, and a~ width- of 90ft. on the Dufferin Street side, which is calculated to give a fine air of spaciousness to thoroughfaros, which.at: present 'have no claim' to anything of tho sort. ' ;

As a contrast the plans,of the alterations proposed by Mr. Morton about a year ago to be made to the Basin Reserve were laid on the table. These, it may be remembered, provided (by the division of tho reserve into two unequal a.rea6 by a tram-track) ;to the west a playing area of five acres, .with a new grandstand set back, to the line of Sussex Street, and to the.east a children's playground 1.4 acres m extent (inclusive of the fountain site). By so dividing tho Basin it was calculated that a big saving could be effected in steel rails as the one .long curve was not nearly so aoute as are, the four corners which at present have'to be negotiated in travelling from Kent Terraco toAdelaid Road or vice versa. Tho committee would liko very much to liavo decided in favour, of the large scheme, but tho estimated cost of the work is teo great. ,Tlie estimate is made up as follows:— Cost of new pavilion, £4000; road construction, £3500; alterations and improvement of ground, £4500—total £12,000. ; \; As ( to the - manner, in which the money in hand is to be expended, no decision was arrived at.