THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE KAIPARA ADVERTISER & WAITEMATA CHRONICLE." HELENSVILLE, THURSDAY, Nov. 30, 1916 HELENSVILLE MAN-TRAPS.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 30 November 1916, Page 2

THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE KAIPARA ADVERTISER & WAITEMATA CHRONICLE." HELENSVILLE, THURSDAY, Nov. 30, 1916 HELENSVILLE MAN-TRAPS.

EVERY broken culvert, the want of a culvert or crossing, bogholes, loose planks, etc., are classed as " dangerous *' (to life and limb), or "-man-traps," go where you will, in this township or any other, while the Pocal body concerned is held liable for damages to the person ; but of all the scurrilous and dangerous man-traps in the centre of the township, and one absolutely made by the Town Board, commend us to the one at the corner of Nelson Street and Garfield Road. When the new street was formed, a sort of crossing therefrom was made leading into Garfield Road, while strangers to the footpath, continuing on to cross the road over to Bailey's, and not desiring to turn to the right or left, find themselves in a breal?-neck hole left there by the men who made the rqad crqssing. Sometimes this hole, which has a drop of three feet into the gutter, is full of fresh water drainage, but during dry weather it is full of stagnant water, No less than three persons, to our knowledge, have experienced a fall into this dangerous hole, left as a menace to life and limb, and all for the sake of continuing about six feet of the road crossing, ,b.ut luckily enough the uijwaryesgaped with nothing worse than a, severe and sudden shakirif. Now we maiiftain that every street or road corner of any importance should have a "crossing," and a safe one at that, as well as a lamp—not a dead one —but a genuine lighted lamp at nights—and its a disgrace to be without. Helensvllle is remarkably remiss in street crossings (as well as lighting), in fact, we may say for outside information and " Parliamentary tourists " generally, " there are none!" Why this neglect and

remissness, it is hard to say. Not a solitary crossing in Helensville, with a population of nearly a thousand, and eight miles of streets and eight mile^s of footpaths (?) —We may well question the footpaths —many of them being "patchy," and out of repair: Besides the particular crossing we refer to, there should certainly be one from Bailey's to Becroft's, leading to the two theatres and stores ; one from the Bank corner ; and especially another from McLeod's late plumbers' shop leading to Eighth Avenue. This corner has a drop of several feet, consequently in wet weather one has to make a risky slide down. A very old sore point this; The township requires a real shaking-up ; improving, and repairing. The present idea appears to be simply " two men always cutting grass," and that in very much favoured places.