Roading Complaint

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 75, 15 April 1937, Page 6

Roading Complaint

PUKETAPU DISTRICT Gennty Council Methods Criticised GLAIMS FOR ATTENTION «'Our Tates havegone on 50 per «ent cent. and our roads fiave deteriorated 100 per cent. They are a disgrace to the Hawke's Bay County Council," was the oplnion of « Puketapu settler when complaining of the had condition of the xoads in the Puketapu district. 4tTh® council appears to be trying «at one .of its peouliar enonomy meaiure*,of>ieeing how long our Toads will lMt*without attention," Jhe continued. "ItCis a ' considerable time (since we #aw* the council 's grader, and from ths look of the roads I should say thatrit must "be rusting away. I reeently travelled over many of the xoads Sn the North Island, and nowhere did I see any of them als had aa our J xoads 5n Puketapu. The corrugafions^and pot holes are terribly bad. TFeyare not only making driving arduous but unsafe and dangerous. '*The river road to Hakowhai," he aontahped, "is so badly worn that alqng ; Mr. Phil. Drummond 's and Mr. j. H. Lowry Js properties the big houldeits, used in the making of the roads over half a century ago, are all showifigthrough. This road is so worn ont and in such a bad state of repaiT that a big espense will have to. be "shouldered in putting it into order again. This is the main outlet for the whoie of the back-country, including the Waihou settlers, to Hastings. ""We don't expeet concrete Toads likA the townspeople seem to gei with- , out.any trouble, but we do expect our roads " to be maintaied in decent order. If the council can't do that for us, what are we paying our Tates forf" The river road, he continued, "was the main highway nntil recently, and during those ten years the council- did not take the slightest advatage of the assistace given by the Highways Board to carry out any improveme.ii,. Since the * Wharerangi-N ewtead road was made the highway^ it haJs been showiug a «T»ui1ar neglect. "With wet weather the worn-out seciions would be a real danger. The grader conld do a lot towarda keeping the xoad in reasonably good order. The suggestion put forward at last Monday's meetimg of the conncil that it ifc only a waste of timo jgrading the roads was all nonsense. If •the" council was not prepared to do something, what claim has it to the eettlers ' Tates? "Settlers are compelled to use these jroads," he concluded. "We have no • other means of access ad we -are constantly faced with repairs to our trueks and cars due to the shattering they xeceived over the endlerts corrogatxons. Mention was made at a meeting of the uouncil of the uupleasantness that was being shown by the settlers concerning the roads. Well, there will soon be a good deal more if the present policy of dolng notHng is allowed to contiuue."