ARTERIAL ROADS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 199, 20 February 1914, Page 6

ARTERIAL ROADS.

! SUGGESTED STATU CONTROL. By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Wednesday. • At a conference of many locul bodies concerned in the maintenance of the Great South road between Auckland and the Waikato, the Mayor (Mr. C. ,1. Parr) Mid it was certainly quite impossible for the local bodies alonjj' the line "j? route to maintain the road, as the districts were in many cases sparsely populated, and the total road income small. They had done the very best ■ thing they could under adverse circumstances. Personally, he. was strongh in favor of tlie Government taking over the whole eontrol of these roads, 11= was done in other countries, but once they claimed that the people of the South Island and in other provinces would demand the same thing. It would be a big contract for the (lovcrnincnt to take over all the main roads of New Zealand. As a matter of fact, districts j outside the province of Auckland which already had excellent roads would probably object to he taxed for the upkeep of main arteries in other provinces, and would prefer to retain the present system. Probably such a proposal would be blocked in the House of Representatives. Still, it was absolutely necessary in the interests of both city and country that some scheme should be evolved, and he thought the solution of the difficulty would be found in the Government finding half the money and creating a board of main road commissioners for administrative purposes. , After considerable discussion, it was unanimously resolved that the conference affirm the principle that the (lovernment should take over the control and upkeep of all main arterial roads. The. Mayor of Hamilton .-aid that ( with the advent of the motor car local bodies were 110 longer able to face the task of keeping main roads iu order. • A strong committee was appointed to place the views of the conference before the Prime Minister and Minister for Public Works.