Centre Poles a Menace

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 741, 14 August 1929, Page 8

Centre Poles a Menace

Cause of Great Economic Loss

EVERY time a motor-car wraps itself around a, tramway centre pole and kills the driver or one of its occupants. there is an outcry against the centre pole and renewed agita—tion for its elimination from the City streets. In this article the case against the centre pole is outlined : its menacing aspects are revealed and its influence as a public danger measured. ‘lt will be followed tomorrow by the viewpoint of the Transport Board.

It has been diflicult for investigators to estimate accurately the value of. lost lives and damaged pro‘ perty through tramway centrepole accidents. Two years ago the Auckland Chamber of Commerce referred to the question in a special report upon transport problems gener~ ally in Auckland, and the reference was characteristically briefz—“The tramway centre poles are a menace to life and property, and the expense of their removal from the city streets must be resolutely faced without further delay.” Endeavours were made at that time to measure the community loss, but the conclusions reached were, at the best, approximate. On a conservative basis, however, it was decided that one life has been lost every year for a. number of years through this class of accident. Assuming this to be correct, and accepting also the official value' of the human life as fixed by the Statistician for the Commonwealth of Australia, Mr. C. H. Wickens, at the Association for the Advancement of Science held at Wellington in 1923, at £1,246 (potential earning power and capital sunk in education and general training included), it will be realised that the community loss over a given period would be heavy. In fact, if this sum were capitalised at 5 per cent., £25,000 would be reached, which, it counted purely in its relation to the general welfare, is economic loss, and would go far toward the cost of removing the centre poles. 350 CEthRE POLES First it must be definitely established that, it a motor-car collides with a centre pole or is crushed by a tramcar against a. pole, the accident would have been avoided had there been no centre pole. Moreover, it is necessary to prove that the presence of two side poles supporting the power lines would be less dangerous to traffic than the one centre pole. Observation alone can determine these controversial factors, and it was upon observation that the Auckland Chamber of Commerce based its adverse report two years ‘ago. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ . '

At the present time Auckland streets are lined with 350 centre poles. Throughout Queen Street, both sides of Wellesley Street, Anzac Avenue, Symonds Street, Karangahape Road,

Hobson Street, Herne Bay route to Ponsonby, Parnell route to Newmarv ket. the poles are displayed. In all recent tramway extensions they have been excluded—Great South Road, Dominion Road, Remuera Road and Edendale, while a gradual policy of elimination in some of the old established streets is revealed by recent removals. On every route there is a centre pole for the tramwayrnan‘s clock. That is essential, and when the pole is well lighted with a vivid red danger sig~ nal, no objection is taken to it by motorists. This centre clock was established because of several accidents and at least one fatality which occurred through motormen having to cross from their trams to the foot path to record their travelling schedule when the clock was estab. lished on. the sidewalk. Motorists have been consistently opposed to the centre pole. Its presence spells constant danger to the motor-car driver in the busy street, and the blame for most collisions is laid upon the pole rather than on the motorist. The justice of the accusation only the eye-witness can decide. PEDESTRIANS’ VIEW Pedestrians in the main are indifferent, because there is a feeling of distinct personal discomfort in standing beside a centre pole while two trams are passing in opposite directions. Yet many pedestrians claim that the pole inspires them with confidence—an island upon which to seek refuge when the vortex of traflic crowds too heavily about them. The Auckland Automobile Associa—tion has for years advocated the elimination of the poles, but, as the secretary, Mr. G. W. Hutchison. said this morning. the assurance of the transport authorities had been given that the policy was to remove them, and so long as reasonable progress was being made no more than general opposition would be shown by motorists as represented through the association. Satisfaction was expressed by Mr. Hutchison that this work was being executed gradually in Customs Street East, where the motors used for in—dustrial purposes mixed so closely with the incoming car traffic from Par~ nell that heavy congestion intensified the possibility of accident.