BOULEVARD LAY-OUT FOR FENTON STREET

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 150, 18 February 1932, Page 5

BOULEVARD LAY-OUT FOR FENTON STREET

principle approved COUNCIL IN FAVOUR BY FIVE VOTES TO THREE OPINIONS DIVIDED

After a lengthy discussioni last night the Rotorua Borough Council eSecided, by five votes to three, to approve of the princi- , * . ple of a three-way houlevard lay-oufc for FSEfton Street. The Mayor opposed delaylng the decision for a full meeting of the council, as the ahsejit councillors, A. Smith and H. Tai Mitchell, were known to he divided in opinion and the relative strength of the vote would not he altered. The Mayor, Mr. T. Jackson, on in-! trodueirig the subject, at once moved , that the principle of the three-way; iay-out be adopted, hut that the counT; cll be not restricted to the actual measurements in the plan, prepared by the landscape architect, Mr. Tschopp. Mr. Jackson said he was firmly of opinion that the central • roadway should he at least 30 feet wide. There should be room for at least three vehicles to pass. For that reason, he wanted the principle ap- . proved without committing the council to the measurements. He had moved in the matter only after careful consideration. He wanted to deal : with the matter in a purely practical way. It had been suggested that a ' three-waF lay-out was not suitable, hut he had made careful investigation t and studied many reports,' fixiding, ; without exception, that in widespread ; cauntries authorities afiirmed that . the three-way highway was the best ' and most efiicient way of contrdlling . t*:a1fic. He had recently studied the acknowledged opinions of those-* handling traffic eontrol in all p'arts ofy the world, and specifically referred to Los Angeles, where the three-way- » sfreet was adopted. The separation of ' the through traffic from the local,-* tended to provide safety, both for. . vehicles and pedestrians. Plenty of Width It had been contended that Fenton Street was not wide enough for three roadways, hut he pointed out that Los Angeles, which had as large , a population as the .^whole of New Zealand had adopted threeway .* traffic in streets not as wide as Fenton Street. In their own case in .; Rotorua, they were faced with the - a'ternative of one big, broad streetj • or a three-way one. If there was just Ihe one big street, the road would - have to he of equal strength for the whole surface, as the heavy traffic r-ould not be segregated. This would • v>st £4,000 a mile. Mr. W. Galbraith seconded the rrotion. With the three-way lay-out " 't would be much safer. Ct. O. H. Coleman supported the * Mayor, and was pleased that the . r otion left open the question of a-oasurements. He felt sure that when •• Ihe road was laid out opponents of ; !:o-day would support then what had ; 'wen done. He would be proud to be 'vsociated with the work. Opposition Views Cr. Johnson, at the outset, express- "• opposition to the scheme, and held that it would be better to defer the matter until tbm'e was a full y "-nncil. Although the Mayor had r.ioted reports in favour of the 'hree-way system, he had no doubt 1 at x*epoi*ts could be obtained op- : sing it. Under the three-way plan * vehicles would still ci'oss in the middle road. He could not agree that the cost would he less than that for ?\ single broad road. Gr, N. M. Keane, who said that he had considerahle experience of traffic, was opposed to the motion. He thought it would be, perhaps, best to have a small commission on the subject to ascertain the views of tl.ose outside the council. The proposed scheme was too elahorate, too dangerous, and too expensive. . Cr. G. Urquhart said he was, coin- ' polled to agree with the last tw(i speakers. The Mayor had not even" been able to give the road measurements. How then could; they; judge the worth of the scheme. As„ ?. main highway the one road would® he better. ; . Delay Useless The Mayor said the centre road! should be 30 feet and the side roads! 20 feet. All authorities agreed that 10 feet was necessary for each, vehicle. This would allow "for three; vehicles for the centre road and two . for the side roads. Cr. L. J. Bayfeild thought that the ; three-way scheme would answer well and would certainly loolc the best in years to come, ' Replying, the Mayor told Cr. Johnson that he searched in vain for reports condemning the three-way system. It was only where the roads were too narrow that the plan was not advoeated. The motion was earried, Crs. Bayfeild, Waekrow, Galbraith, Coleman and the Mayor voting "aye," and Crs. Urquhart, Johnson and Keane "no."