Northward Traffic

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 545, 24 December 1928, Page 10

Northward Traffic

ROADING SCHEME AT TAKAPUNA BECAUSE the ratepayers of Takapuna have refused to sanction further concrete road proposals in the seaside borough, a much-needed street improvement scheme, to cost in the vicinity of £35,000. is being delayed. The traffic on The North shore has increased four-fold during the past four years, and the constant passage of heavy passenger motorbuses is tearing up the unconcreted surface—particularly along the main Takapuna-Northcote route.

On a percentage basis the Takapuna borough., which, comprises the main north outlets, showed the second largest in'crease in population in the Dominion according to the last census. This fact, coupled with the growing popularity of the North Shore beaches as summer resorts and motoring * -destination points, has swelled the volume of traffic to be handled, and incidentally has widened the responsibility of the local authorities there. When the harbour bridge is constructed—North Shore residents say

it must and will come—the stream of north-bound traffic will be infinitely heavier than at present, and good roads will be essential if ordinary comfort is to be assured for the traveller. A comprehensive programme of roading has been mapped out by the engineer to the Takapuna Borough Council, Mr. Archibald Slinger, who is eminently pleased with the manner in which the present concrete surface is standing up to the work, but who recognises that certain stretches of the metalled highway are wearing fast and will require permanently resurfacing. ’ ' lo f? rs t sign of motor-bus competition w ith the old Takapuna steam trams, long-sighted residents on the North Shore predicted that the chief opposition was to be feared from the Northcote end,- for careful tests had shown Takapuna to be ten minutes closer to town through Northcote than through Bayswater or Devonport. Subsequent tendencies have justified the expectation of this route’s popularity, and at the present time a great deal of the city traffic goes through the Northcote end

Whether this will be altered by the short cut now taken by the Devonport vehicular ferry must for the moment main a conjecture. The Local Gpvernment Loans Board has sanctioned the raising of money for concreting the greater part of Shakespeare Road on the Northcote route, the metalled gap in King Ed ward Avenue at the Bayswater end, and the rough patch near Belmont on the Devonport run. This wort:, which is estimated to cost in the vicinity of £35,000, cannot be proceeded with, however, because the ratepayers turned it down definitely at a poll. LOOKING AHEAD The general streets improvement plan of the Takapuna Borough Council, which provides in a comprehensive way for the future development of unsettled lands, has tlie approving eye of the Town Planning Board, although a great deal of straightening out must be accomplished before the district can bear the distinction of being well designed. At the present time a multiplicity of side streets lead to so many cul-de-sacs instead of providing comfortable egress from new subdivisions, and several localities are being retarded in development on this account. Gradually the problem is rbeing solved. It is proposed by the borough engineer eventually to construct a road which would provide an almost direct line from Takapuna to Bayswater, cutting off the present route along Lake Road and passing through the Jutland Road area, which is one of the oldest subdivisions in the district, but which has been held back by inconvenience of access. SCRAPPED TRAMS The old tram rails have been torn up, and the steam trains themselves are pensioned off —some of them to spend their declining days in service in Dunedin suburbs; others to be taken to beaches to be used as summer huts. It is unlikely that the width of concrete along the main road through Takapuna will be broadened. At present there are 20ft of concrete—2ft more than the <;arriage-way on the Great South Road—and this is considered sufficient for the requirements of a few years ahead. There are about 28 miles of unformed and partially formed streets in the borough, and gradually these are being brought into conformity with subdivision and settlement. With their formation will develop also the arterial outlets which have been designed, but which progress alone will bring to accomplishment. It is proposed shortly to concrete Inga Road, which fringes the back of Milford Beach. Advancement in road development for dealing with heavy traffic is to be seen in every direction at Takapuna. As the land is cut up for settlement, so will the present disconnected system of side-roads merge into a convenient and comprehensive plan, leading ultimately to the construction of the harbour bridge and intense improvement from ih.e North Shore to Deep Creek, as well as to convenient road access to the Far North.