THE KARORI TRAMWAY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3112, 16 June 1917, Page 10

THE KARORI TRAMWAY

CITY'S PROPOSAL TO ABSORB

A SURPRISE TO THE BOROUGH

"'l'lio h'rst I've heard of it was when I nicked up the. paper yesterday moraine. We've hail no communication on tho subject, ami I hardly know what to think about it." 'J'heso woro the words of. Mr. B. G. K. Burn, Mayor of Knrori, when seen yesterday by a Dominion reporter anenl; tho proposal of the Tramways Committee (adopted bv tho council) "that the' lime had arrived when it was desirable that tho city should acquire, nt the earliest opportunity, the portion of (he Karori tramways between the Botanical Gardens and the Karori Cemetery, and that negotiations to that ond be forthwith entered upon."

The Mayor of Karori said that in view of tho fact that they had received no communication from the Wellington City Council ho did not care to ontei , very fully into the nfattcr. Ho said, however, thnt his feeling was that Karori had always been penalised by tho city more or less, and they woro going to be penalised in. tho matter of tho car mileage charge. Ho did not see why they should have to pay Id. per milo more Fuan Miramar Borough, for example. The City Engineer and Tramways Manager (Mr. AV. H. Morton) argued that it was because more current was used to pull the cars up tho hills. That was so, of course, but on the otiier hand there was proportionately less current used on the return journev. From Church Hill to the deviation no power, save perhaps starting power at the Cemetery, was needed; then from the deviation to the tunnel there were a few chains of easy up-grade, and from the funnel practically to the Thorndon Bowling Green the cars could be run by gravitation, whilst on tho Aliramar and ijeakmnlinesthepowehadtobe used the whole time, yet whilst Karori was paying Is. per mile, Miramar was only charged Is., awl now we have to pay Is. ljd., and still Miramar pays Id. less per mile.

Another injustice to Karori, continued Mr. Burn, was the stop-time they were charged by the city. In order to work in with the city time-table the cars wait from 7 to 10 minutes opposite the Council Chamber iu Karon, and that time has to bo paid for. "We don't want them to stop, and have told them so," said Mr. Burn, "still they do stop, and wo have to pay the piper. It's au unfair charge. Stop-over time amounts to over .£l5O a year. Why should we have to pay itf"

Atr. Bum said he could not commit himself on the question, of tho transfer of the lino to tho city, but he thought thnt if satisfactory arrangements could be made the desiro ol the city might be met.

Tho position of tins suburban line is peculiar. When, it was constructed the Karori borough's boundary extended right down to the Botanical Gardens, and the road the tramway travels was wholly within the borough. Since then, however, Wellington city lias absorbed all the eastern watershed of the Tinakori Hills, taking- in Northland, and Karori laud as far west" us tho deviation and reservoir, which places the major part of the tram-line—between the Gardens and the Cemetery—within tho confines of the city, whilst the city also supplies the power, cars, and labo'ur for the whole of the service. The lino and road-widening coat .£54,000. Tho line is of immediate importance to Wellington, as it is the only transit service to the JYfellington Municipal Cemetery, and naturally is the most lucrative section of tho line. From the Ceineter.r, the Karori Borough Council constructed an extension of the line to Karori Park, which length of lino is a steady loser. The proposed negotiations arc really only a matter of financial consideration, and there may not be much difference between the views of the bodies interested.