MIDHIRST AND MOTORS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 203, 25 February 1914, Page 3

MIDHIRST AND MOTORS

TALKING OK TOLL-GATES. PUESENT FINANCING METHODS HOPELESS. There was a fair attendance at the meeting of county ratepayers at Midhirst, yesterday to discuss the proposal to erect a toll-gale on the Mountain Road, between Midliirst and the north boundary of the county. Mr W. Uathawav, countv chairman, nresided.

The Chairman put the position of the county finance and the North Riding finance before the meet in;.', and made it clear that no council could fairly be expected to make l out of its ordinary revenue provision for the unkeep of roads for motor traffic. The present revenue, lie said, was not sufficient fo • maintenance of the roads. The Te Popo bridge, near Midhirst, was worn out, and the Stanley Goad and other bridges were in urgent need of renewal. The increase in motor-traffic had been abnormal and unexpected. The engineers and local bodies were crying out that the ordinary revenue was not sufficient. The Counties' Conference had affirmed the principle of taxin" motor-cars, bit (.he Government was not likely to estrange support by adopting the recommendation. He referred to the districts in which traffic was small and rates also small, and pointed out that still those districts got a full halfpenny subsidy on its rates. Here, where'rates were heavy, the subsidy was proportionately small. Were the Stratford subsidy in proportion to tho--M.ackon7.le County subsidy, there would be no need here for toll-gates or ior anxiety concerning the county (iiiaiiae. i Mr. Hathaway referred to the results 1 of the installation of toll-<?atos in other Taranani counties. At Hawera, the J Main South Road gate had cost about £250, the revenue was from £llOO to £I2OO annually, and the collector's wages £2 12s per week. The other gate, wlfich was i» the nature of a stop-gap, brought in about £150; and the keeper (the wife of one of the surfacemen) got £1 a week. Carts used in conveying milk to or whey from dairy factories were passed through free. Of the Eltliam County gates, the main gate had produced £5501 12s in fiv.' years, and £1413 in 11113. There the Council charged only 3d for milkcarfs drawn by one horse. ' On this matter the Stratford Council was now taking outside legal advice, with ,a_view of making the tolls on dairy factory traffic as light as possible.

A traffic tally had been kept last week at Waipuku bridge, and gave the following figures: .Motor-cars northward, To;, southward, 54; motor-bikes northward, 73; southward, 4!); motor-bike* with side-cars northward, (i; southward, 7. The cars northward day by day wore, 5, 7, .10, 7, -27, 5, 14, tin- biggest figures being for the day on which' the Royal Artillery Band paved at Xew Plymouth. Of four-wheeled vehicles, 24 travelled each way, and of two-wheeled vehicles 02 north and (i) south; horsemen, 31 and 34; cattle driven, 182 and ■3: sheep, into and !)06. These tallies, Mr llathaway pointed out, referred to the traffic between S a.m. and 0 p.m. for seven days, but there would be a good ileal of traffic before and after. A ratepayer: At least half as much again. , Mr llathaway then referred to the failure of tile representations made to Ihi> Government for a subsidy towards the co.it of renewal of the Te Popo bridge, the representations being made on tie grounds that tlii- was. the main i motoring road between Xew Plymouth 1 and Wellington. The engineer's estimate of bridge. work was read (including £3OO for Te Popo). The road, lie said, was better than ever, but not in ;l state to stand the increasing motor traffic About £ii«o a year would be needed for scarifying, re-metalling, and re-facing one mile of the road per annum, and the necessary widening of the metal by 4ft would cost £IOO a mile. The roadwav was not fit for treatment with tar. but would year by year be made fit. The tarring treatment would cost :ios per chain, and the maintenance of it would be n- --■. costly, whilst the road would be unproved out of all proportion. The estimated cost of maintenance in the riding for the year l'U-1-l;, was £.100!). and the income was only £'2W)O. out of which the hospital rate had to be paid. Mr. XV. Eogers (County Councillor) introduced the mailer of asking the Government to take over the main roads, leaving the local bodies the side roads only. Either this would have to be done or they must have toll-gales to enable them to mainlain the roads. Mr. das. Thomson (councillor) said the ratepayers should see that the roads got some revenue from the motorists, who tore along our roads from outside the district. Or. Smith also spoke. Or. Ohristoffel, whom the chairman referred to as a motor-car owner himself, said he did not favor toll-gates so long as there was any satisfactory rev-enue-producing scheme available. ' But it seemed to him that toll-gates were absolutely necessary in lliis district; in order to get revenue from passing motorists. Most of the ICllham toll revenue came from motor vehicles. He strongly advocated the system of tarsealing metalled roads. Concluding, lie urged the meeting to support the Council's toll-gate scheme, the revenue and expenditure to lie allocated as follows: North riding, 70 per cent., and the other ridings ten per cent. each. The chairman opposed the Govern-

nient taking over muiii roads on the Ground Unit there would In: dun! control, expenditure duplicated, and grealcr taxation on the man on the land. The system advocated would lead to political corruption. Away with it. as with a viper "It's going to he cither a half-penny rate next year-I wouldn't like to sav it won't he a penny - or toll-gates." In answer to Mr. Peterson, the chair-

man said there might eventually he four toll-gates in the county: (])' hetween Jfidhirst and the Waipiiku bridge: [■>) on lieaeonsfield road, near Kahouri hridgo; 0!) in the south riding;" and U) in the west riding. The revenue would prohahly he equal to that derivable from the iy 4 d rate. Mr. A. Hrown (pieried the fairness of giving the south riding any of the revenue. That riding had no bridges to maintain, and could do without help from here. lie hopeil the gates would deal with the traffic of cattle dealers, who drove stock from sale to sale, doing

as much damage, perhaps, as motors. The chairman declined to treat the (revenue partition suggested as serious. As for the dealer's traffic, if they could stop that it would be in the interests of the roads, of the cattle, and of the buyer The motor owners were willing to pay a fair tax, and if the local hotly had the money, the motorists would get a good road.

Cr. Smith said that if tlie north rilling built the gate out of riding funds it ought to have all the revenue. Mr. lirowu said that the toll-gate would press on some suppliers to the dairy factories more than on others. Would the councillors present give an assurance that the charge 011 this traffic would be as light as possible? This assurance was given. counciHovs wishing to let oil' milk carts altogether if possible. It was estimated that the. revenue from the traffic recorded at Waipuku last weef (based on the Rltham trailie) would lie about i!" 20 a week, Mr. floodwin thought the gate could be better placed between Midhirst ami Stratford, to catch the stock traffic. The chairman pointed out . that to snare all of it. a gate would be necessary near the Kahouri bridge on the East road. One ratepayer thought ratepayers' should be exempt. Mr. K. Peterson moved, and Mr. H. Lmlers seconded that this meeting approve of* the erection of toll-gates in the county. Kigteeen out of 32 voted for the motion, and none against.