MOVING STAIRWAYS

Hokitika Guardian, 23 May 1924, Page 3

MOVING STAIRWAYS

ORGY OF BRIDGE-BUILDING. SYDNEY. May 15. It seems rather a strange fact that the escalator, or moving stairway, which lias been such a valuable aid to handling pedestrian traffic in England, America, and elsewhere for the past de- , cade, has found no abiding place in Australian cities. At one time, nil enterprising department .-tore in Sydney installed one to convey patrons from the ground to the tir-t Hour. But that was in the early days of the contrivance. and it was not long before the innovation was gladly abandoned. Blit the escalator of to-day is a vastly different all'llir— or. at any rate, that is what wo are told by the Bailway Commissioners of this State, who are just completing the installation of three great sets of moving stairways at the new Lavender Bay station, on the northern side of the harbour. According to the official report on the matter, these stairs will convey passengers swiftly, and smoothly from one level to another, without any physical risk whatever, whatever the conduct of the person being carried, and they cannot even tear one’s clothes. One gathers that they might be trusted almost to carry an inebriate sal'elv home and do everything but put him in bed. But. seriously, the l.nvendar Bay escalators promise to he a grout boon to North Shore residents coming home by limit or train. Each of three stairways is designed to carry ID.Hill) people an hour, and will he operated—two up and one down, according to the direction of the main traffic at different times of the day. They will surely be popular with the younger generation, bill the Cnmmi.ssiiinoi's realise that prejudice dies hard, and are also fitting a lift for the timid, and for those'who regard even that convenience as a modern invention of the Devil, an ordinary non-escalating stairway. Talking of the Lavender Bay escalators which are part and parcel of the Harbour Bridge scheme, reminds one of the fact that Sydney seems to he indulging in an absolute orgy of bridgebuilding. One would have thought that the great Ilnrhoui Bridge would have satisfied us for a while. But Sydney is growing, far .too rapidly to I'o so easily pleased. On the North side alone, two more bridges are being built. The Mayor of Manly a week or so ago drove the first pile of a bridge across Middle Harbour at the Spit. The necessity lor this connexion lias been obvious for many years. And it might have remained obvious for many more years but for the enterprise of the Manly Council, which itself financed the bridge. The structure is expected to lie finished at about Christmas time. It will be unique in its way. as it is to be operated on tin* toll system. Few people, however, will ob-

ject to that who have had experience of the ridiculously inadequate Government punts at this spot. Then there is another htidge going over Middle Harbour, at Roseville, some four miles fintlier nti. This also is being carried out by local councils, and will open lip a fine tourist run through the northern suburbs and via Frciieli - Forest to Narrabeen. Sydney will indeed be a city of bridges when one will he able to go on a round trip fmm the city over the I’yrmont bridge and tin* Iron Cove bridge and the l.atio Cove bridge and the Gladesville bridge, and the Roseville bridge to Narraboen and over tin* Suit- biidgc and the North Shore bridge back to the,city.

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