ROADS AND PETROL STORAGE

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 43, 15 November 1926, Page 7

ROADS AND PETROL STORAGE

WELLINGTON- MUNICIPAL •METHODS OBSERVATIONS of mayor of CHRISTCHURCH The Mavor of Chtistchiuch (Mr. JR, Archer) , w.h° was in Wellington last . Wednesday) had some comment, to . .make, on his, return to his. home city,. mpon road construction and petrol storage here,. . ■ .:■ ■ - ■:■ ■,. ■ A. considerable portion of ms time while in Wellington, he said, was spent in making inquiries and investigations into; these matters,.:■. As - f ar as road . construction ; was- concerned; . said Mr. Archer, he was driven , to the conclusion •Ahat. Wellington, was > going, ahead tar more . rapidly,-:than-Christchurch in the Jayingrof,permanent -r-Oads.. ..Many •.m lles had' already been, constructed ;in j Wellington, and these were to be added to later.. He eonsi.dered. tliat .it was.high time for Christchurch to .wake up if she was going: to ho.ld her -place, as one o tlie leading cities in ;the Dominion as far as roads were .concerned. Energy and Efficiency.. “As to 'petrol storage, 1 wish very warmly to congratulate, the Wellington Citv Council arid its . officers on the •energv and efficiency With which they are overseeing this matter, ’ said Mr. Archer. “In the presence, of the chiet officer I discussed the question at considerable' length, and made fairly extensive'personal investigations.. Speaking generally, it is being, found, in Wellington that proper control is becoming more and more difficult as the years pass bv, the reason being that the purveyors' of petrol are hot as cateful as thev might be. Two inspectors already give the whole of their time to Supervision, and it is considered that an addition to the . number will have to be made before very long. Moreover, with tlie advent of bulk supply, greater attention will have to be given to the quality of the liquid that is being sold On tlie other hand, it- discovered that bulk petrol is not going to drive off the market petrol sold in tins. At two new companies selling only A in he ( petrol are already operating in the Dominion, and one company, which has , begun to do the greater portion of its business on the ..bulk system, is putting part of its. petrol hack into tins ano selling it in that form. . "Petrol storage assumes three forms in Wellington," he continued. first, there are the small underground tanks limited to a rapacity of 500 which are used in conjunction with tne pumps. Secondly, there are the underground tanks of a capacity of 10,000 gallons, such as are proposed to be installed in Addington. Finally,, there are the main tanks holding in the aggregate • numv. thousands .of gallons. Just now, in Christchurch, the public are mainlyinterested in the second Concerning these, the expert of the Wellington Citv Council is of the opinion that such precautions arg taken in regard to their construction. and use, that the danger of an explosion or fire is reduced to an absolute, minimum, and, moreover, except on sentimental grounds, their presence in a residential area should not depreciate, the value, of surrounding propertv. On tl;e other hand,, he very definitely ..and emphatically maintains that they ought not to. be placed with- ■ in residential or industrial areas,., but -should only be .allowed in dangerous goods areas. Wellington has its dangerous goods area, which.is.located, upon ■the Hutt Road, about .half a mile from the Thorndon railway station, and outside all residential and industrial areas. Nowhere else in the city would tanks like those proposed to be put at Addington be tolerated. ... “The Vacuum .Oil Company, which is causing some of us so much anxiety in Christchurch, may be taken.as a case in point. It has never applied for permission to introduce underground-tanks of .the kind suggested for Addington in ativ residential or industrial area m lf it did so apply it would be refused permission, .As a matter of fact, they are now proceeding t 0 ,n ' stall these same tanks underneath the . .floor of a concrete building of their own in the dangerous goods area. Why ■ they should be .doing, that-in Welling-, ■ton and doing something, different- in Christchurch,. passes ray. comprehension. , These things- and. many others ,\vliich might, be mentioned suggest that the proposal ,to put the petrol .tanks at Addington is a scandal, and if. the Citv • Council grants permission, not only,ought a Supreme Court.injunction, be. sought, but tlie council.ought to be .impeached for civic high treason.’!