Stopping of Heavy Traffic to Rotorua

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 719, 19 July 1929, Page 11

Stopping of Heavy Traffic to Rotorua

ALLEGED HIGH-HANDED-NESS MATAMATA COUNTY’S ACTION Has the Matamata County any right to declare a section of the Rotorua-Auckland main highway a fifth-class road, in view of the fact that it contributes less than £2O a year toward its upkeep, and that residents of Rotorua subscribed £I,OOO toward its construction? Also, the road is said to be in excellent order. rpHAT is the question being' askerl in and around the Rotorua district by those whose interests are being threatened by what they term the high-handed autocracy of the County Council in question. The portion of the road affected extends about 13 miles, and is the up-gradient of the range that passes over Mamaku Hill from the Waikato, It commences at the Okoroire turnoff, and ends at the site of Steele Eros.’ old Maraeroa mill, and all direct Rotorua traffic must pass over it. VITAL TO ROTORUA The Matamata county authorities have refused for many years to sanction any expenditure upon it, and the ratepayers to the county contribute under £2O a year. It was vital to Rotorua that this necessary link should be properly formed, and the residents of Rotorua, supported by the Auckland Automobile Association and tourists, contributed £I,OOO toward its construction. The Highways Board, through the Public Works Department, constructed this road at great expense, and today it is stated to be equal, if not superior to the section on either side of it. The road, constructed by the Highways Board and the residents of Rotorua, comes under the jurisdiction of the Matamata County Council, and this authority has declared that it is a fifth-class road and as such can carry only a maximum load of 2i tons. SUS COMPANY PROSECUTED It has successfully prosecuted the Rotorua Bus Company for running its buses, which have from three to three and a-half tons loaded weight, over this stretch of road. Prior to the construction of the road, it is stated, buses carrying any weight could use it. The Rotorua Bus Company has been handling the passengers from Putaruru to Arapuni under contract with the Railway Department. The magistrate upheld the legal position of the Matamata County Council and fined the Bus Company £lO and costs. At the time of the issue of the summons the company was under contract with the Railway Department to take up 400 passengers at Putaruru for a trip to Arapuni and back. The whole fleet when on this section of the road was stopped both going and returning, and the names of the drivers were taken, presumably for further action. It is argued by the Rotorua district that it seems strange that a county, in mere titular possession of a road, upon which it had repudiated any suggestion of spending money, and for which it was indebted to the generosity of Rotorua citizens and the Main Highways Board, can put an absolute veto on bulk passenger traffic, save by private car, and make revenue out of it by legal processes of obstruction. PRIVATE CARS ONLY At the hearing of the case against the bus company, the Matamata county engineer, Mr. E. Fitzgerald, said the road was constructed with the definite object of providing a road for private cars and for tourists, and that the railway could take any hire work offering. He said further that it was not the intention of his council to open that particular road for that class (bus or service) of traffic at any time. It is also stated that a six-mile section of the possible alternative road in Rotorua, via Atiamuri, has also been gazetted a fifth-class road, thus isolating Rotorua from participating in the benefits conferred by modern cheap travel. There is no question of competitive freight transport involved. The matter has been taken up by the A.A.A., which has forwarded a letter to the Minister of Transport asking that consideration be given to the question, and pointing out the harshness of the methods adopted by the county. The matter naturally concerns all service cars, and some private cars have also come under the ban. It is urged that the time has come when the control of all main highways should be vested in a central body, thus removing any chance of unfair restrictions by local bodies.