MOTORS AND ROADS.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1915, Page 3

MOTORS AND ROADS.

CONDITIONS IN CLIFTON COUNTY. While discussing road repairs at the meeting of the Clifton County Council yesterday, the chairman (Cr. A. M. Bower) expressed the opinion that the present width of the niain roads (12ft.) was not sufficient, and contended that they should be widened to lfift. The council would never get over it,s difficulties under the present system. Everywhere else in New Zealand the roads were lfift. wide. A start should be made at the county boundun. and tlio whole road should be made l(ift. wide.

The engineer and several councillor!! agreed with the suggestion, but pointed out that the. financial position of the council would prevent wider roadi being made.

The chairman said the class of traffic now using the roads —motor waggons and motor ears —was doing a great deal of damage, and a system of continual patching of the roads was useless. Cr. Kcimingtoii said it was the speed at which the metal's travelled that caused the damage. If the speed was limited they would do very little damage.

The chairman said the motor traffic had come to stay, ana there was no doubt that the council would have to face the question of laying down roads that would carry the traffic. Widening the reads from *l2ft. to 16ft would bs a £tep in this direction.

Cr. Purdie: But .we are not in a fin> aneial position to do so.

The chairman: Wa have got to make a start in this direction, and it is better • to start now than in a couple of years. Wo have a big problem ahead of us, for the traffic now is very different to what it was ten years ago. Cr. Purdie suggested concrete roads. The chairman: Now you are getting : from the sublime to the ridiculous. Where are you going to get the money to put down concrete roads? It's not ' worth wasting time discussing it. It was decided that in future when repair work was done on the main road the metal should be put down 16ft. wide instead of 14ft. wide. The chairman: That's a good work started,