“Taranaki Central Press” TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1937. SHIFTING THE STATION.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 378, 9 March 1937, Page 4

“Taranaki Central Press” TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1937. SHIFTING THE STATION.

A rumour is prevalent in the town that the Railway authorities have definitely decided to shift the Stratford station to Warwick Road. It is suggested that this decision has been made to conform with the wishes of the municipality in terms of a Borough Council resolution passed some years ago and supported at last month's meeting, when his Worship the Mayor stated that he had indicated to the railway officers who discussed the matter with him that the Council was still of the opinion expressed in its earlier resolution, that the station should be shifted to the Warwick Road site.

We have deliberately refrained from discussing this important subject. The site of the “Central Press - ' office in Fenton Street is such that, if one of the earlier suggestions had been carried out, the plan would have involved the closing of Fenton Street and the purchase of the property on which the “Central Press” building is located. Having, therefore, ama terial interest in the whole problem, we made no attempt to express any views, preferring to leave the matter to the business people of the town, whose interests are, of course, directly affected by any change of site.

The position to-day, however, has changed. Business people in the town have been discussing another alternative; A suggestion has emanated from a prominent citizen that Regan Street should remain open as now; that Fenton Street should be closed but the originally-planned subway be proceeded with; that one or more additional lines be extended over Fenton Street across a widened bridge leading to shunting yards on the south side of the Patea river. The station platform could then be extended at its Fenton Street end and only through railway traffic would then affect Regan Street.

Such a scheme would not involve the shifting of the station, yet would overcome existing difficulties of shunting across the two streets. As it does not involve any material interests of the “Central Press,” and as, to our mind, it meets every requirement of the town and the Railway Department, we have no hesitation in supporting it.

Suppose the station is shifted to Warwick Road, what are the material advantage to the town? Apart from holding up traffic at the crossings while shunting is in progress, it seems there are I none. On the other hand, the present inconvenience to street f traffic would be changed to a veritable danger. Trains from the north, on the way to Warwick Road, would pass through the heart of the town at a speed which would be definitely dangerous to vehicular and pedestrian traffic, while trains' leaving Warwick Road for the north would, by the time Fenton and Regan Streets were reached, be travelling at a similarly dangerous rate.

And would not, by shifting the station, the Railway Department be acting contrary to modern principles of railway service? Abroad, railways spare no expense to locate stations in the heart of towns. Fven in New Zealand, Auckland people have experienced the folly of building a station away from, the hub of the tewn. The lesson learnt bv the Railway Department there has been taken to heart in Wellington, where the station has been built close to the city.

We make bold to say that the Railway Department does net want to shift the station, but wants to meet the wishes of the I own. Their only method of judging that is from the Borough Council, and the two resolutions now on the council minute-book must, at the moment be their guide. Do those minutes, ■ however, truly reflect the wishes of the citizens?