CARRIERS ALARMED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 561, 14 January 1929, Page 11

CARRIERS ALARMED

From Saturday’s Late Edition

COUNCIL’S BAN ON TAUPO HIGHWAY PROHIBITION OF HEAVY TRAFFIC (From Our Own Correspondent) PUTARURU, Friday. The sudden prohibition by the Mata* mata County Council of all motor traffic exceeding 2% tons in weight on a section of the Auckland-Taupo main highway, has caused consternation among many business men in the Putaruru and Mokai districts. When this road was gazetted some time ago as a main highway it naturally came into the 6-ton class, and during the meantime a big business has sprung up in the cartage of totara posts to the railhead at Putaruru. Much capital has been invested in. motor-lorries, and contracts involving hundreds of thousands of pounds have been entered into. In the bush alone employment is found for 100 men. DEPUTATION TO COUNCIL Those affected have wired and written to the Minister of Public Works and Railways on the matter, and yesterday a deputation consisting of Messrs. H. L. Martin, T. Grimshaw, D. Walls and W. Roe waited on the council to urge their side of the question. Briefly the carriers’ viewpoint is that the council, instead of crippling a. legitimate business, which has been built up on a 6-ton road, which feeds the railways, should have impressed on the Main Highways Board the necessity of. spending the money derived from motor taxation. AN ALTERNATIVE The chairman (Cr. Judd), while thanking the deputation for attending, replied that the crux of the whole question was that there was an alter* native route via the Taupo Totara, Timber Company’s railway. The council had to protect its ratepayers. Special permission would be given in certain cases to exceed the limit of tons. The council was also requesting the Public Works Department to enforce the timber company’s order-in-council and to compel them to accept such freights at reasonable rates. Acting on the advice of the chairman the members of the deputation immediately applied for temporary exemption and expressed themselves as satisfied with the reception accorded