THE PUTARURU PRESS. Office Main Street! ’Phone 28 – – – P.O. Box 44 (Lewis, Portas and Dalhmore’s Buildings.) THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1926. ROAD CLASSIFICATION.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 145, 12 August 1926, Page 4

THE PUTARURU PRESS. Office Main Street! ’Phone 28 - - - P.O. Box 44 (Lewis, Portas and Dalhmore’s Buildings.) THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1926. ROAD CLASSIFICATION.

UNDER authority of the Public Works Amendment Act, ,1924, and the regulations made thereunder, known as the Motor Lorry Regulations Amendment No. 1, the Franklin and other county councils have classified | every road in their respective counties. Every road is specified in the official notice, under the headings of third, fourth and fifth-class roads, the weights of combined vehicles and loads permissible on roads of each class being clearly stated. Sooner or later every county council will probably fell it desirable to adopt this complete classification; in fact, it is only a matter of justice to the ratepayers and the motor lorry owners to do so. Apart from the usual wintertime regulations dealing with heavy traffic, where the roads are unclassified there is no power to prevent heavy traffic on roads not fit to bear it at any time of the year, wet or dry. Heavy lorries may be seen all the summer using secondary unmetalled roads, even where good metalled main roads would serve as well, and the consequence is that the local settlers have their roads destroyed and made unfit to stand up to even light winter traffic. The whole underlying idea of modern rosiding is to make the road to carry a certain load, and to prohibit, except in special cases, where permission may be granted, loads above the scheduled capacity from being carried on such road. To permit a lorry which with its load weighs six tons to travel on a road that is capable of standing up to a 2^-ton load (third class and fifthclass roads, respectively, in the schedule), is very bad policy for the council, and an injustice to the ratepayer. Moreover, there is also need of legislation giving local bodies power to compel through traffic to keep to the main highways, or to specified through roads. Some months ago the Matamata County Council felt constrained, on the advice of its engineer, to write to the A.A.A. protest- - ing against that body pointing out to its members that it was desirable to get off the beaten track (the main highway in this instance) and to use the side roads. Mr. Fitzgerald rightly stressed the salient fact that these secondary roads are for essential local traffic, and that the main highways I are being constructed for through’ traffic especially. For example, the short stretch of road running towards the railway station at Hinuera would receive very hard usage if the through traffic took that way instead of keeping to the main road during the summer. Similarly, in the Matamata town district, two streets—Hohaia and Tamihana, which were gravelled some time ago, and given an excellent surface for light traffic, are being cut up badly by the cartage of cream on lorries, which vehicles should be made to keep to the main , roads. Complete classification might well become general, and the need for legislation regarding the regulation of through traffic at all times of the year would be a good subject for a remit to the Municipal and the Counties’ Conference. In the meantime the need of additional legislation could be brought under the notice of the Minister of Public Works and the Highways Board.