HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 202, 21 May 1919, Page 7

HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE

SUGGESTIONS BY HON. G.W.RUSSELL

ZONE SYSTEM FOR TRAMS , - ' ' AND TRAINS

One of the greatest problems of the present day-rand it has been enormously accentuated by the war-is that of providing for the housing of the people," said the Minister of.lnternal Affairs (the Hon. G. .W. Russell) at-the Town-plan-ning Conference yesterday. "The ' increase in land values caused by tho growth of cities is one of the primary causes of high rent," said Mr. Russell. West in importance comes the increase, in the cost of building material of ail kinds, more particularly timber, nlus the increase of the cost of labour caused iby the higher standard of living of topay as compared with past years. Two' attempts have been-made to supply the want of homes in New Zealand. Under' the State Advances Act.' down to March 31, 1018, ,£3.473.000 had been advanced to workers to enable them to purchase or erect their homes, the total number of loans outstanding on that date baiiw Soil, and 6-tS workers' dwellings had been erected by the State under the "Workers' Dwellings Act, 1905, and ita amendments. The power given. to municitial corporations to erect workers' homos lias not' been availed of. I am satisfied that, this country must embark upon a ereat scheme for housing tb> people, and that we must talk in millions on this subject if we are to have a happy and a contented people. Eevolntioiyand anarchy are not bred in the'boners of men who have hanoy .homes' and delightful gardens; its spawn comes from_ Hie 1 crowded tenement, the squalid environment, .and tho slum.' .

"How. then, riiay we seek to obviate the' evils of overcrowding, not only for the present, but for the future? I ■want at this print, to draw your attention to the fact that the increase in .the cities of Great Britain has arisen not only from its industries, but has been 6imuitaiiFous with the erowth of its' railway system. ■ . It is the railways .of Great Britain which have depleted the rural districts and built up the cities and towns. The question is, can we so adjust our tramway and railway system ns to give them-a centrifugal action, and not a centripetal. In oilier words, can we so adapt our tram svstqm as to use it in order to encourage the spreading of the people out from the cities rather than forcing them into the cities and towns? I think we can. I therefore yenture to assert that what is known as-' the zonal system of railway traffic must be. applied to our. railways and tramways, in order to encourage people to live at a distance from their employment... and thus prevent Hie- overcrowding of our towns. The system is asimple one, and can be briefly described as a method of railway charge by which instead of a. mileage "basis a universal fare 13 charged within' a ' fixed area, which is Hint or' the none. "Under this system the, fare would be the.same for seven ten mileswhatever mieht be declared the zone— from the railway station, instead of as at present each separate milo increasing the chargo to the worker to and from his employment in the city.. The ■advantage.', of it would be evident. If this fiohemo were adopted the only tax upon the man' would be the time 'occupied in travelling, and not a monetary charge. This system of railway charge was strongly advocated by the late-Mr. Samuel Vaile, of Auckland, and although I did not agree with every old- of his proposals, I am satisfied that the idea, if worked out,, provides the kev tp thu situation, and would 1 do more to'prevent congestion in our cities and to spread population into the outer area than any other pronosal which has been made. _ Were this principle of railway' and tramway charge determined upon' in order to secure the financial results the people living near the 'centres might have to pay a somewhat higher rate in order •to secure, a universal fare within the area, but the good of the whole community must be considered, and it will be evident-that the mileage charge is a persistent block against, the .extension of citiej and towns trom' our centres outJ' 3 ™?- . Were, the principle given effect to Wellington would ere long extend itself to the Lower Rutt district,* or even timber, Second zone were established. It would include (he whole of the country as far as Porirua on the Mana-watii-Lme, and thus large areas of residential sites would rapidly be brought witmn the scope of the city. In the same wav Christeburch would extend itself from Hornby, in the south, to Sumner, and Brighton, and even to .V 01 ,-,,"" tlle "orth- -.Auckland would still more rapidly extend towards Pukelcohe m the south .-md Henderson in the north, while Dunedin would stretch its arms out to the neighbouring districts, and include a large area both smith and south of the city.

. 'come of you may regard these as "teams. I can assure you thev are not. iney .are a practical anticipation of the time when ; our lour cities will bnve attained piany. times their present' population, and it is the business of this generation to lay down the methods by whicj) those who come after us will'be able to say we have not neglected our duty to posterity. ' The same principle is applicable to our -rising towns liltWangaiuii, Palmerston North, Hamilton'; timaru, Im-ercargill, and other? similarly situated/ and on .exactly, the same methods' namely, that of the zonal system. Provision woul.J be made for their extension :r, (ho days to come;"