“ONE BROAD HIGHWAY”

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 53, 26 November 1926, Page 12

“ONE BROAD HIGHWAY”

KENT TERRACE WORK TO PROCEED

MAGISTRATE UPHOLDS PROPOSAL

PROCLAMATION TO ISSUE Taking all the factors into consideration, Mr. E. Page, * S.M., has come to the conclusion that the Government should authorise the issue of the proclamation which will enable the City Council to proceed with its Kent Terrace improvement scheme. The Magistrate’s recommendation was communicated yesterday to the Attorney-General (Hon. !. J. Rolleston), who forwarded it to the Minister of Public Works for the necessary action.

The object of the inquiry Mr. Page was deputed to hold was to determine the propriety of the issue by the Government of a proclamation under section 12 of the Land Act, 1921, authorising certain portions of the Kent Terrace and Cambridge Terrace Reserves to be included in the streets known as Kent and Cambridge Terraces, or taken for the purposes of new streets. The inquiry was concluded on Tuesday last. The report the Magistrate has made is couched in the following- terms:— “The present reserve is portion of the Basin and Canal Reserves, originally granted in 1854 to the Superintendent of the Province of Wellington for purposes of public utility for the town of Wellington and its inhabitants. In 1873 these reserves were conveyed to the corporation, in trust, as a public recreation ground for the inhabitants. THE COUNCIL'S PROPOSALS. “Shortly stated, the proposal of the City Council is to increase the width both of Kent Terrace and Cambridge Terrace by taking from each side of the present reserve a strip of land averaging 12 feet in width and including such strips of land in the highways It is proposed to take a small piece off the end of the reserve at Buckle Street and at Vivian Street, and to intersect at intervals the length of reserve lying between those two .streets by two cross sections of highway from Kent to Cambridge Terrace similar' to that now crossing the reserve near the foot of Elizabeth Street. The council proposes further to alter the general appearance and ornamentation of the remaining portion of the reserve by removing the majority of the trees that exist there, and substituting therefor certain plots' of ornamental grass, shrubs and flowers. The effect of the taking of this land 'will be to reduce the width of the reserve to 21 feet This is the width at present existing at the extreme north end of this reserve. The work of ornamentation when completed will be similar in character to that now existing at the northern end of the reserve. REASONS FOR AND AGAINST. “The City Council contends (a) that there is considerable congestion of traffic in Kent Terrace and Cambridge Terrace; (b) that there is danger to pedestrians by the proximity of the tram rails in Kent Terrace to the pathway running along the reserve; (c) that there is danger to traffic by reason of the fact that the trees in the reserve obscure the vision of drivers at the corners, and (d) that the beauty of the reserve (which at present is something in the nature of a wilderness) would be enhanced and the general appearance of the highway would be improved by treatment similar to that already given to the reserve at the northern end. “The objectors contend (a) that any congestion of traffic if it exists could be overcome bv opening alternative routes and that the taking of this reserve from its original purpose atid putting it into a street is not warranted; (b) that the danger in Kent Terrace will be increased and not diminished by the proposed- work; (c) that the danger from lack of visibility at the corners of the reserves can be eliminated by adequate thinning dr pruning of the existing trees, and (d) that it would be a retrograde step to destroy trees and shrubs which havejtaken many years to grow and which, if properly tended, are of greater beauty and value than the proposed grass and flower beds and shj-übs. Alternately, the objectors say that even if the proposed work should be shown to be beneficial, it should not be done hurriedlv, but should await the operation of the Town Planning Act 1926, so as to ensure that it will fit in with the scheme of town planning that will eventually be decided on for the city of Wellington. MAGISTRATE’S CONCLUSIONS.

“A considerable volume of evidence was given on behalf of the respective sides by various witnesses of Standing and experience, a number of them being specialists in relation to the question under consideration. . After carefully considering the evidence and after viewing, the locality several times, 1 have come to the conclusion

(a) That during the busy hours

there is a substantial congestion of traffic in Kent Terrace. The

statistics supplied show that in no street in the city is the volume of traffic greater than in Kent Terrace. The proposed increase in width in the two terraces will materially relieve this congestion. (b) That the present position of the Kent Terrace footpath, the edge of which is almost brushed by the passing trams, is a danger which should be removed. (c) That the visibility at the ends of the reserve, where they .abut on Buckle Street and Vivian Street, needs substantial improvement. “ONE BROAD HIGHWAY.”

“Although in a city by no means bountifully supplied with trees and plantations, it may seem a pity to destroy any trees or shrubs, and although the question of the relative beauty or suitability of trees similar to those now existing, as against ornamental grass-plots and flowers and shrubs, is largely a matter of opinion, I think that the latter method is more appropriate in this locality. The proposed increase in the width of the two terraces, and the carrying-out on the reserve of a scheme of planting similar to that recently carried out at the northern end, will, I think, enhance the appearance and beauty of these combined streets. They will be seen as one broad highway instead of as two relatively narrow streets. “Some danger is apprehended from the fact that, although tram traffic running in both directions exists in Kent Terrace, the council proposes to make motor traffic in each terrace over the whole width of road, one-way traffic only. The question of the control of the traffic in the streets is, I think, one primarily for the consideration of the City Council, but. with the tram tracks in their present position, if one-way traffic is allowed over the whole width of Kent Terrace 1 do think that the result will equal in danger the conditions at present existing. lam inclined to think that, with the increased width of both terraces, ordinary two-wav traffic in each will be found to be the more suitable and convenient. TOWN PLANNING NOT OVERLOOKED. “The fact that the Town Planning Act, 1926, will come into force at the beginning of 1927 is not, in my view, a sufficient ground for delaying the carrying-out of the City Council proposals in these streets. It will probalJly be some years before the town planning scheme is completed and approved. The whole weight of evidence indicates that, whatever supplementary routes of traffic may be devised in the future, it is clear, so far as at the present day it is humanly possible to predict, that Kent and Cambridge Terraces, from their geographical position and their topographical features in relation to the city, will always be one of the main arteries towards the southern end of the city. Moreover, the evidence shows that the proposals of the council in relation to this highway conform to recognised and approved principles of town planning. RESERVE REPLACEMENTS. “It may be proper here to mention that the file forwarded me shows that one of the grounds taken in opposition to the scheme was that there had been in the past substantial encroachments on the reserves entrusted to the corporation; and that unless a halt were called the reserves would be gradually whittled away. The evidence before me shows that, of the total area of Town Belt and reserves (1068 acres) originally conveyed to the corporation in 1873, there has been, excluding land taken for roads, less than 11 acres appropriated by the City Council to other purposes. _ During the same period the corporation has acquired, chiefly by purchase, additional parks and reserves, totalling over 1000 acres.

In the result 1 am of opinion that the proposal of the City Council is a proper one, and I recommend that the necessary proclamation be issued authorising the portions of reserve shown on the plan submitted to you to be taken for the purpose of public streets.”