TAR-SEALING ROADS.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 December 1920, Page 8

TAR-SEALING ROADS.

FAVORED BY INGLEWOOD COUNTY. LOAN FOR ,£70,500 PROPOSED. A special meeting of the Inglewood County Council was held,at the County Oflice, Inglewood, on SaUuday, for the purpose of discussing road tar-sealing proposals, etc. There were present: Urs. A. Corkill (chairman), A. K. Cowley, H. Jones, M. S. Cameron, J. B. Simpson, J. Hunter, and R. Stewart.

Th" chairman stated that the engineer's report, was to the effect that it would cost £73,000 to do the work required, i.e., metal and tar-seal the Mountain Road from Waipuku to Waiongona 10 feet wide; Junction Road from Inglewood to Waiwakaiho, 10ft wide; Junction Road, Inglewood to Kaimata, 14ft; Bristol Rbad, Wortley Road, Tariki Road, Egmont Road, Lepper Road, Kaimata to Zig-zag, all 14ft; and contingencies £C(i4O

The chairman stated that with Cr. Stewart and the engineer he had gone into the matter, and suggested that the proposals could bz amended by reducing the width of the Mountain Road from Inglewood to Waiongona to 14ft wide, and the Tariki, Wortley, Bristol, Lepper, and Egmont Roads to 12ft wide, the cost including £BOOO for new plant, etc., and £ISOO for county offices, etc., and also payment of first* half year's interest could be reduced to £70,500, and if the proposed work cost less than was estimated the balance of the loan money could be used to extend the. tar sealing along the Junction Road cast of Kafmata.

Cr. Jones expressed disappointment at the East Riding being left out He understood there was considerable objection in that area, but ratepayers must be blind to their own interests, as by having good roads they would have a considerable saving in rates for maintenance and also in wear and tear He suggested that in any rase a portion ot the road further on towards Taratu should be tar-sealed.

. Cr - Cameron said that the East Riding ratepayers did not wish to come into the scheme, but the hill the other side ot Kaimata would become in such a state tnat it would soon require renewing, and he did not think that ratepayers would he averse to having a mile or so of the road tar-sealed.

Cr. Jones asked whether the ratepayers on .the other .side of the were now in the North and S'outh" Ridings, would be excluded.

The chairman stated that lie understood there was likely to be a move to alter the boundaries, but he thought after a re-valuation there would not be much cause for complaint. Personally he did not think it fair to include"the East Riding when they .did not get a mile of tar-sealing in their riding. Cr. Cowley pointed out that they would use the roads of the other riding in order to reach the market.

Cr. Hunter favored bringing iri the East Riding and giving them several miles of tar-sealed roads.

The chairman said that the class of metal used in the Hast Hiding would not be suitable for taY-sealing. Cr. Stewart said that all" the roads mentioned in the proposal carried a lot of traffic, and no doubt when they were completed,'if proved successful, -they could proceed with other roads.

Cr. Cameron said that until they could get the Zig-zag placed into decent order, the East Riding people felt that the tar-sealing proposals' should be a secondary matter. Slippery Hill was another bad hill that required improvement.

Cr Jones moved that the tar-sealing be extended a mile further along past Kaimata and also along ten chains near Mangaone. The chairman said that it would be difficult to improve Slippery Hill, which had been regraded a few years ago. The Zig-zag had been a continual expense, and was as bad to-day as when first made. The back country people would have to rate themselves 'to improve the Zig-zag or make a new road, because tile Zig-zag was unquestionably a barrier to the district, and that was the reason why lie left them out of the tarsealing proposals. Cr. Hunter did not favor making the main roads at the expense of the back settlers. Main roads for the rich motorist should be tar-sealed dut of tyretax.

Cr. Stewart said that tar-scaling was at business proposition, as it reduced the sost of maintenance and left more money available for the by-roads. The chairman said that he was not concerned with the question of who used the road, but with reducing the cost, of maintenance. There was a continual" stream of ears during the summer on the Lepper Road which carried all the tourist traffic to the mountain from the south. So that from a business point of view he could not see the advantage of leaving the Lepper Road, which was the closest road to the mountain. To leave that road and tar-seal Kgmont Road would certainly be favored by New Plymouth. (Jr. Cameron asked where the money would be obtained in the event of the loan being carried. In reply to Cr. Cameron, the chairman said that he would favor the road from Waipirku to the Waiwakaiho bridge, the direct road t« the port being attended to tirst. Then would come the .Mountain Road from Tnglewood to Wiiiongona. Cr. Simpson said that the Council were side tracking the interests of the ratepayers on the side roads for the benefit of tourist trallic on the main roads. He believed that the lnglcwood district had a great future in front of it, but tar-sealing the nmin road would not improve it, and he would not ask settlers in the by-roads who had to plough through the mud witli their milk, etc., to pay further rates to tar-.-.eal the main roads.*He had nothing against tarsealing main roads, but he wanted to see men in the by-roads placed on a better footing, so that they could increase production and so pay' for it, and lie thought, if the loan proposal was put before them they Aould turn it down three to one. He held that the Council was jumping a little before it should There was no co-operation or community of interest in the proposal. There were settlers on the Upland - Wortlev Road whose trade should come to Inglewood, but they could not get here owing to lack of roads, and the anomalies "that existed should be wiped out. The proposals meant that settlers in the mud were asked to pay rates to tar-seal the mam road, whereas every settler payinn rates should be entitled'to ask that lie he given a metalled road. The council, should give a lead and put land only produeing one-fourth of its capacity into a position capable of producing' threefourths. He considered that the argument re keeping up the main roads as a _ I first charge should not apply so strongly

in the case of a road alongside which a railway ran. If the council wanted to adopt a progressive policy they should first attend to the wants of the side road people. ? The chairman pointed out that, the law compelled them to make the upkeep of the main road a first charge.

Cr. Simpson pointed out that by raising an objection they could get the law altered. If it could be proved to him thai tar-scaling the main road would increase production more than giving the side road man metal, he would withdraw his objection. He had interviewed 17 motor-car owners, who wanted to see the side road men attended to first. He held that they would tar-seal the main roads and leave the settlers in the side roads in the nmd for another twenty years. .

The chairman: We will prove you a false prophet. ' Continuing, Cr. Simpson said that he was not against tar-sealing proposals, but he would move the following, which he considered should be placed before ratepayers simultaneously with the tarsealing proposals: — "That the matter of tar-sealihg be deferred until the engineer prepare estimates of the following works needed to give side road settlers necessary facilities to increase production. Forming a.id metalling King Road, also Upland Road to boundary; continuation of metal to wive access to the last section on the Norfolk Road west; also on Norfolk east, Suffolk Road, Lincoln Road, Richmond Road, Ratapiko Road, Kaimata Road south, opening Bedford Road from Egmont Road to Surrey Road; metal DeAy Road to give settlers an opportunity to work their sections. All special loans to be consolidated, and both proposals to be put to the ratepayers at the one time." They would, he considered, then have the will of the ratepayers. Several councillors suggested other roads. Cr. Simpson remarked that nay proposal that lessened the traffic on the main road must be of bo:K-!it. Cr. Cameron understood that the attitude of the Government w.'.s in the direction of giving side read settlers access. Whilst sympathising with the tar-sealing proposals he thought that a sound, progressive proposal would be to increase facilities for produetion v in the back country. He considered that the difference between getting their produce carted by horse 'transport anil motor transport was not very great. Trey wanted to encourage settlers to go on the back roads and side roads, and not remain on the main roads. Cr. Jones considered it. would be only waste of time getting the estimates asked for, as settlers already paying two or three special rates would not care t,o rate themselves to metal by-roads which they never used.

The chairman said he did not see how tar-sealing could interfere with the maintenance of the side roads. Regarding settlers in the mud, he considered the council were not to blame, as roads could jiot be metalled out of rates, but if settlers on side roads were prepared to raise a loan for metalling, they should have first call on the loan money raised, which was limited to £IO,OOO per annum. The first move, however, had to come from tlie- settlers themselves. As far as he could see, Id rate would pay interest on £70,000 loan, leaving Ud available for other work, though there was no doubt, with the increasing 1 radio on the roads, the cost of maintenance must increase.

Cr Hunter, in seconding the amendment, said that settlers, in raising loans, were helping themselves. He would oppose the tar-sealing loan until the council did as Waimate County had done, taken over all the loans in existence at the time. The chairman said that this was impossible in the Inglewood County. The chairman further said that the bulk of the metalled by-roads had "been metalled by settlers on the roads raising a loan, and now Cr. Simpson wanted to rate them for settlers who had shown no inclination to raise a loan to metal their own roads. If they desired to remain in the mud, let them do so. ■

Cr. Simpsin said (hey must not. forget that the ratepayers had the final say. Their conditions were different to Waimate. It was, lie considered, only logic that the two proposals, i.e., tar sealing the main roads and metalling the byeroads, should be placed before ratepayers.

Continuing, Cr. Simpson said th.'.t the policy of the Taranaki County Council had been to ask the settlers to metal the road, and tiwy would keep it in repair. He asked the council to get away from that policy and let the community metal the road and make the individual keep it in repair. The motion moved by Cr. Simpson was lost, Crs. Simpson, Cameron and Hunter voting in its favor, and Crs. Jones, Cowlev. Stewart, and the chairman against it'. Before putting the resolution re tarsealing, the chairman said that there was no question that tnr-sealing would prove a progressive and profitable proposition, and lie therefore moved a resolution in accordance with the amended proposals for a tar-sealing loan of .€70,f>oo as outlined in his. opening remarks. This was seconded hy Cr. Jones and carried.

An amendment by Cr. Hunter, seconded by Or. Simpson, that the matter bo deferred until a meeting of the full council, was lost.