ARTERIAL ROADS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 10, 7 October 1919, Page 8

ARTERIAL ROADS

Sir—Tour leader of September 30 so ably advocating immediate stops for ' a comprehensive arterial road policy should be endorsed by all who give the subject unbiased consideration. Sir AVilliam Eraser's proposal for, joint local body and Government control would not be found best.,in. practico. Unrestricted Government control is essential lor' uniformity, nnd desirable, so that the work will be taken in hand and tompleted systematically. , Dual control is entirely undesirable m engineering works. Fancy one of our senior Public Works engineers haying to warp his schemes to suit the ideas of the engineers of each of the counties and town district? through which he .was_ passing; or having in 0110 instance to fii.it tho wishes of iv. very careful local body, nnd immediately nlongsido, to elaborate to please a more progressive one. Our Public Works engineers are tho best trained, and include some of the most capable engineers in the country. Further, it would be unfair to ask each local body to supply the up-to : date machinery that will be required for making and maintaining these suggested main thoroughfares, whereas .several such outfits administered by tho P.W.'s, under specialists would do all the work required for tho whole country and at a great saving. AYero the Government subsidising 1 all such and maintenance works it should not be hard to select a committee of men to allocate to enth local body its proportion. Theso two items of .expenditure would have to be kept separate. Those local bodies whose .roads are in good order nnd 60 requ.iro less expenditure would require to have their interest Biifegitarfled as against their less progressive neighbours; whilst the. maintenance cost would'have to lis 'borne by those deriving tho mast benefit, for it would be obviously'unfair to weight, say, poor sheep country whose producing value would not be increased, just because it .adjoined such improvements which were benefiting almost solely the through traffic. The right of appeal to all affected should eliminate undue liardshins.—i am, etp., . W,S.