SUBURBAN NEEDS.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 April 1922, Page 4

SUBURBAN NEEDS.

CONVEYANCE TO WESTOWN. ’BUS AND TRAMS DISCUSSED. A largely attended meeting of Westown residents took place at the West End Bowling Club's pavilion last night, when the question of ’bus and tram facilities was discussed. Mr J. S. S. Medley 'president of the Progressive Association) presided. The Mayor (Mr. F. E- Wilson) was present by invitation, the meeting having been called with a view to gett'ag u definite opinion from Westown pe >ple, seeing that certain corrtsrcndence which hai appeared in the Press, to the th*c the securing .of a aecon 1 ’bus was not favored In the course of seme remarks at the outset of the meeting, the Mayor reviewed the position in connection with the proposal to extend the tramways, and expressed the opinion that if the tram issue was adopted it would be at least eighteen months before the extensions were carried out. There was the question of securing Government approval, and also of raising the money. The steps that were now being taken by the council were merely with the idea of being prepared when they were ready to go on, and it appeared to him that the question was how to provide for the present needs of the suburb in regard to conveyance. He said he would like to see unity among the Westown people, and urged that if they had any representations to make to the council they should do so before the report was discussed, and not start criticism afterwards. The council was not going to force the ’but on the people if they did not want it. PRESENT NEEDS. The chairman said he understood the council was prepared to provide anothei ’bus, subject to the money being available. He understood that if the trams were extended it would be to David Street only. The Mayor: “That is so.” The chairman said he understood the council was of opinion that the rest of the town would not vote for a proposal to carry ,the trams any further than David Street- This meant that the upper part of Wtestown would be in a worse position with trams as far as David Street than they would be with the ’bus. In reply to Mr. Medley, the Mayor said that it would be about four months before a second ’bus could be put in commission. The chairman said that personally he did not think that the ratepayers of other parts of the town would agree to tram extensions further than David Street. However, he would like to see the trams, as they sent a district ahead. The Mayor emphasised that it was not a question of ’bus versus trams. The council was in favor of tramways. In no sense could a ’bus be regarded as blocking the trams, and in his opinion the growth of New Plymouth was such that if the trams were extended later other avenues could be found for a second ’bus if they had one. If the council had the money he did not think there could be any question about the ’bus. THE TRAM QUESTION, Answering a question, the Mayor said it was hard to say if tram rails were cheaper than they were in pre-war days, but they had certainly fallen in price. He pointed out that they would not need to get further trams or provide for more current so that the extensions would not be so heavy as a new tramway system. Mr. J. D. Sole congratulated the Mayor on the lucid way in which he had placed Ihe matter before the meeting. He thought there had been quite a lot of misconception over the subject of Westown’s attitude. They wanted to get something to meet present needs; if the council would provide a second ’bus and then go on with their efforts in regard to extending the trams to David Street, he thought the Westown people would be well satisfied. He was of opinion that the trams should be extended, as he did not think that there would be any loss. The speaker drew the attention of the Mayor and Crs. Blackball and Large (who were also present) to the question of the route. He said it. waa not only a question of which was the better grade; there was also the commercial viewpoint. If the trams were extended via Morley Street a very big portion of the revenue would come from visitors to the hospital and Western Park. This would be lost if the Cutfield Road route was adopted. He further pointed out that a sum of £lOOO had been authorised in one of the loans for the grading of Morley Street, and he did not think the council would need to buy much land in connection with putting the trams along that routeSECOND ’BUS FAVORED. The following motion was moved by Mr. Haddrell: “That this meeting is in favor of the Borough Council procuring another ’bus at the earliest possible moment.” Mr. Haddrell said he could speak disinterestedly, as he was independent of the ’bus. The present ’bus service could not cope with the present traffic, and passengers were left behind in dozens. The motion was seconded by Mr. Dickinson. Cr. Blackball, in supporting the motion, remarked that the Westown people had helped to pay for the town trams, and were also paying an inner area rate, and he thought the town people would help them when they wanted the trams. The motion was carried unanimously. A further resolution, moved by Mr. Sole and seconded by Mr. Johns, was carried endorsing the action of the Borough Council in securing estimates for the extension of the trams, the mover expressing the opinion that the present was an opportune time as regards materials, while the money rate was likely to become easier.

Mr. Johns remarked that he was sorry to see Or. Griffiths had said there was more building going on in Vogel town than in Westown. This might be the case, as Westown had built so rapidly that operations may have eased off for the time being. The suburb was about three times as populous as Vogeltown, but he did not think it was desirable that this line of argument should be pursued. During the ensuing discussion the merits of the Cutfield Road and Morley Street routes were reviewed by various speakers, and Cr. Large and the Mayor explained that this was being mooted as it was quite likely that in the future the trams to the Breakwater would have to be taken off St. Aubyn Street and run via Devon Street West, branching out on to the South Road where it widened out at Cutfield Road. The Mayor was of opinion, however, that the matter was not one which need concern the meeting, and the council would be open to hear any suggestions before the engineer’s report was dealt with.

A vote of thanks was accorded the Mayor and Crs. Blackball and Large, for attending. In the course of his reply MrWilson said he believed that if they adopted the right course they would encounter little opposition from the inner area on the subject of extensions.