As Others See Us

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 686, 11 June 1929, Page 6

As Others See Us

N.Z. Traffic Conditions Seen By a Sydneysider A writer in an Australian motoring journal, “The Open Road,” says some very interesting things about New Zealand traffic regulations and touring conditions. His opinions were formed after a lengthy caravan trip last summer, and, of course, were published solely for home reading. “Christchurch (N.Z.) was an eyeopener to me when I visited it recently. A more charming place you couldn’t wish to find, but the traffic is the very limit. Traffic control is in the care of inspectors appointed by the City Council, and, of course, municipal funds are never too large, and so the number of inspectors is small. To make their minute quantity still smaller, they do not exclusively choose big men and, to cap all, they clothe them in khaki. “Hence it is a perfect scream to see a little man in an invisible uniform trying to direct traffic at a busy intersection. Such traffic it is: motors and horse-drawn vehicles, hand-carts, thousands of bikes, hundreds of prams and somnambulistic pedestrians, all wandering about in any old sort of way. “The motorists there are most slovenly in parking their cars. Rarely do they draw in close to the roadside. Three or four feet out seems the usual order. When I was there a girl on a bike was crushed, between a tram-car and a motor parked well out into the road. Their city streets are anachronisms, with a prodigious cambered surface and finishing with a deep gutter on either side. Wellington and Auckland I found most wide-awake, particularly the latter place, which has excellent streets, with traffic controlled efficiently. “I would advise any of our members who propose taking a holiday there to take their car to Auckland and travel to Wellington by the east coast. The Union Company has a fast steamer specially equipped for transhipping cars between Wellington and Picton. The journey is only a matter of a couple of hours or so across the Straits to the South Island. Petrol is cheaper than here. Roads Better "On the whole, the roads are in far better condition than the general run of our country roads, and in addition, every mile is of absorbing interest. “There is no duty on tourists' cars, but; a cash deposit is required for Custom’s bond and is returnable when the car leaves the country. The Auckland Auto. Association will always assist visitors through the Customs. Country accommodation is reasonably good. Anyhow, I met nothing to equal the deplorable places that exist in plenty of our country towns. “The old-time goodwill still exists there between motorists, and to meet it again makes me feel regret that so little is seen of it nowadays over here.” CHURCH BUSES The Rev. J. Cairns, vicar of Chevening, Kent, says: “Don’t build unnecessary parish buildings. Rather, subsidise a motor-bus. I have done so. Now on Sunday evenings a large, very crowded motor-bus comes along, and nearly trebles the congregation.” The rector of Brettenham, Norfolk, has purchased an omnibus, and drives worshippers to and from church, not stopping to change out of his cassock. He charges a penny each way.