COUNTY MAIN ROADS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5237, 10 February 1928, Page 3

COUNTY MAIN ROADS.

SUPPORT OF HIGHWAYS COUNCIL.

ADVANTAGES OF SCHEME.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Hauraki Plains) County Council the following letter was received from the chairman of the No. 2 District Highways Council-

“Thq question of the advisability of counties declaring a main road scheme as provided under section 131 of the Counties Act, 1920, was discussed at the last meeting of the No. 2 Ditrict Highways Council, an|d the following resolut’on was'passed without dissent, though Messrs, Lowry and Walters, representing thej Piako and Manuka, u counties, refrained from, voting:

“ ‘That the chairman be instructed to send out a letter to the county ■counc’ls in the No. 2 Highways District who have not already adopted the< principle, pointing out the advantages) of. having a system of county main roads; particularly now that the quest'on of distribution of petrol tax is to be considered.’

“The subject arose from the discussion of 'tlie recommendations to be made to the Main Highways, Board for addit’onal roads to be declared main highways conisequqnt on the new funds being made available to the board by the petrol tax.

“The object of taxation on motors is to lighten the, taxation on lands and place it more on the users of the roads. It is manifestly quite impossible to .arrange a main highway system so that every riding will have a length of .highway within its area, and hence where) the riding system of finance .is in force there mus,t be seme ridings in which none of the proceeds of motor or petrol taxation will be spent.

“This position. can be remedied by making use of section 131 of the Counties 'Act, which enables a county to declare within its area a system of main roads which will be a charge on the county geneiral fund. Such a. scheme would include all the main highways and as many other r°ads. as the county might think fit in order to make 1 * the scheme an equitable onie. The effect would be that the county moneys for expenditure on this sys,tem of roads would be pooled with subsidies) from the Main Highways Board, and it is claimed that such a system of finance-would give the most equitable distribution of the benefit Of motor taxation, and in addition would induce a much broader outlook towards the reading problem than ist at present the case' under the riding system.

“The actual financing of the works would also be much more; flexible than at present, in that a large fund is able to meet sudden heavy calls, as, for instance, flood damage, which would be beyond the capacity of- the smaller riding funds).

“There were difficulties involved,” concluded, the letter, “anid the scheme has to be very,carefully thought out, but it. could 4),e .done and lias been done; witih ?very* conspicuous The system is strongly advocated by the Main Highways Board.” The' chairman' (Cr- E. L. Walton) said that he had at last secured suppptrt .for his main roads scheme. Cr. Hicks said that the scheme might be all right. Cr. ’Miller; pointed out that more than half the; counties in- the No. 2 Highways District had system in operation.

Cr. Hicks pointed out that the scheme would be adopted if there was some means of compensating those, ridings which had carried big reading loans. The maintenance) p»f those roads was very light. Cr. Harris said that the councillors who had supported the chairman’s proposal were favourably disposed towards giving assistance to those ridings which were suffering under a hardship.

On the' chairman’s suggestion, the matter was referred to the works committee f<Jr consideration.