Delays and Dangers.

Patea Mail, 28 April 1882, Page 3

Delays and Dangers.

The dangerous approach by way of Bedford-street, a steep and narrow ascent irom the wharves and railway, has caused several collisions and at least two serious accidents resulting in in personal injury. That street is the main approach to the business portion of the town, and ought to be formed the full width and improved in the grade without further delay. That work is indeed an urgent local question. It is even an eyesore and a grievance. The new Borough Council, in agreeing on a scheme of urgent works to be constructed out of loan, placed the widening and grading of Bedford-street as the first work on the list. The next step was to appoint an Engineer, and he was instructed to prepare an easy grade for that approach to the town, with an estimate of the cost of widening the street to the full width, properly forming it, and planting the sides with trees. The Engineer has been hard at work in preparing these details for the Council; and until bis plans and estimates for this and the other loan works are handed in, there is no means of hastening the work, and no power of raising the proposed loan. The Council having resolved to do that work out of loan, there is a fixed legal routine for the loan to go through before a single work scheduled can bo commenced. The estimate must be prepared by the Engineer. That estimate must be submitted to a public meeting of ratepayers. Those ratepayers must vote on the whole scheme by ballot. And then—not till then—the Council will be legally in a position to raise part of the loan so authorized, and can start the specific works without another day’s delay. A long time has been consumed in these preliminaries before the loan can be raised and the work can be begun ; but it is idle to pretend that the Council or some member of it is to blame for the delays caused by complying with legal requirements. It may be complained that the Works Committee could have commenced other works outside the loan scheme, and -so given an impulse to the town by spending ordinary revenue bn local improvements. But before even works of this kind could begin, it was found necessary to have the permanent levels of streets fixed by survey ; and the Engineer seems to have had too many urgent works thrust on his hands at once. It may be true, as is alleged, that the Works Committee have not pushed on some smaller works which did not depend on permanent levels. The widening and gravelling of the road to the wharves is their principal work lately, and it was important to be done before the wet season sets in.