PETITION RE PROPOSED WIDENING OF HIGHWAY AT WAIPAHIHI

Taupo Times, Volume IV, Issue 206, 13 January 1956, Page 5

PETITION RE PROPOSED WIDENING OF HIGHWAY AT WAIPAHIHI

At the last December meeting of the Borough Council a letter was received from Messrs Langley, Twigg and Doole, Solicitors, Napier, enclosing for the information of the Council a copy of a petition signed by Messrs C. H. D. Faulknor and eleven others with regard to the proposed widening of the Lake Front highway between Taharepa Road and the old TaupoNapier road, near Edgewater. The original petition had been sent to the Minister of Works, the Hon. W. S. Goosman. The petitioners are the owners of properties fronting the highway, and situated on its eastern side, that further from the lake, and state that they have been advised that the National Roads Board has decided that the widening of the highway from 1 chain to 1| chains is to be confined entirely to its eastern side. The petition states that this will adversely affect the properties mentioned, to a serious degree. In some cases entrances will be twelve feet above road level, and in others substantial and valuable dwellings will be brought within a few feet of the highway. In some cases the loss of property will have the effect of reducing the area of the property below the minimum area stipulated in the Borough by-laws, and amenities lost will be irreplaceable through lack of space. Permanent building improvements will be lost as a result of the proposed road line passing through the middle or part of such improvements. The petitioners contend that the widening of the highway, between the two intersections mentioned, beyond the present width of one chain, is unnecessary for the following reasons : — There is no access to the lake shore and the question of car parking will thus not arise; the portion of highway concerned is subject to a 30 m.p.h. speed limit; the deviation of the Napier-Taupo highway (to the Golf Links Road and Spa Road) will ease the burden of traffic on the highway; the present sealed width of the highway (16 feet) could be trebled and still leave 18 feet available for f ootpaths and other purposes ; in many cases the taking of the land for the increased width will gravely affect the value of the balance of the land and therefore will entail large claims for compensation. The petitioners state that if, in spite of their contentions, the Minister still considers it is advisable to widen the highway in the area in question, then the adverse effects of such widening would be considerably reduced if the widening were restricted so as to provide a maximum width of 1| chains only, instead of 1| chains as at present suggested. Such alteration would reduce the height of the bank on the eastern side of the highway, reduce the difficulty of access to the petitioners' properties, remove the road line from the immediate proximity of dwellinghouses, and maintain the properties affected at a reasonable area. At the same time it would provide room for an adequate traffic way and footways through the area.