BROADWAY’S TRAFFIC JUMBLE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 378, 12 June 1928, Page 8

BROADWAY’S TRAFFIC JUMBLE

NEWMARKET’S bugbear, the traffic jumble of the Broadway, should be lessened considerably by the alterations which it is proposed to make in the tram-stops and lines. The scheme, as approved by the Newmarket Borough Council, was endorsed by a meeting of ratepayers last night, and it now only remains for the City Council to give its assent for the work of improvement to be commenced. Motorists are unhappily too conversant with the present difficulties of the Broadway, one of the chief of which is the tramstop near the corner of Station Street. When a tram reaches this corner, all traffic has to stop, and in busy hours there are continual hold-ups, with cars stretching out for hundreds of yards, and pedestrians unable to leave the footpath with safety. It is now proposed that trams shall in future stop a short distance before the junction of the Remuera and Manukau Road lines, so that motors will not be held standing in the congested area. There will he another-inward stop on the open triangle, near the municipal chambers, where a, safety zone will be provided, and the alterations here will include the laying of new tram tracks so as to provide a wide sweep by which to enter Khyber Pass Road. This should make an easier and a safer approach, eonveniencing both motorists and pedestrians, and the dangerous track which almost encroaches on the kerbing at the foot of Khyber Pass Road will be removed. The scheme is an excellent prelude to the provision of an alternative route, sweeping from Khyber Pass Road into Manukau Road, and avoiding the Broadway. The alternative route is a necessity, even with the proposed alterations to the tramway system in this area, which will not in themselves he sufficient adequately to relieve the congestion of the Broadway. The first stage is welcome, however, and doubtless the work of constructing the alternative route will be proceeded with as soon as the authorities have approved of a plan from the suggestions offering.