THE NORTHERN APPROACH.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8510, 14 August 1907, Page 5

THE NORTHERN APPROACH.

THE QUESTION OF IMPROVEMENT. ACTION BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL. The much-discussed question of ; improving the northern approach to I Masterton was revived at the meet- ! ing of the Masterton County Council, | yesterday, and from the decision i arrived at, it is highly probable that I the matter will receive attention | sooner than is generally anticipated. ! Cr Welch, in opening the discuss- | ion, said that Cr Harris had it, on | good authority, that the Government ! would, if approached, be prepared to i contribute £2,000 towards the ! cost of improving the approach, ; provided the local bodies interested ! —the Masterton Borough and County Councils —paid one-third of the cost of work each. Thus if the work cost £6,000 each body would be called upon to contribute £2,000. His opinion of the importance of the work now was different to what it was some time ago. He had always opposed anything being done, because he thought the Council would have to bear the lion's share of the work, but the basis of payments, which he had outlined, seemed equitable, and he did not think the County ratepayers would object. The time had certainly now arrived when something should be done, and even if nothing were done now, the present state of affairs could not exist for more than a year or two. If the Council did not act now it only meant that some other local body would be stepping in and doing the work. The Council would still have to pay their share, but the work would be taken out of their hands and this he was sure, no Councillor v • -I'l like. In apportioning the cost Oj. carrying out the necessary improvements he suggested that the Alfredton Riding should be left out, but the Akitio, Castlepuint and Mauriceville Counties should bs called upon to pay their share, as the approach was used by people coming from these Counties. He moved that a Committer) be appointed to meet a Committee from the Borough Council to discuss the matter. If the latter body agreed to the course he suggested then application could be made to the Government for a grant, and the work proceeded with. Cr Harris said the work might only cost between £'l,ooo and £5,000, and then the cost to each body would be considerably lighter. He felt sure that if a poll of the ratepayers were taken to-morrow they would sanction the work being done. Cr Toogood said he quite concurred with what the previous speakers had said, but ttiey seemed to lose sight of the fact that it was only those ratepayers living within five miles of Masterton who used the approach. Therefore the ratepayers of the outer ridings should not be asked to pay as much as those near the town. He was quite satisfied that the people who would benefit most by the improvement of the approach were those living at Lansdowne, and, therefore, they should be asked to pay the most. The Alfredton ratepayers used the br jdges also, and it was not fair that they should get off without paying anything at all. If Cr Welch would amend his motion in the direction of appointing a committee to go into the financial aspect of the question, and report to the next meeting, the speaker would support it, but he could not do so as it it stood at present.Cr Cockburn - Hood, chairman, agreed with the last speaker's sentiments, and though he saw the importance of the work, he would not consider himself justified in spending the ratepayers' money in the wholesale manner suggested by Cr Welch. He thought that a good deal of the danger attached to the approach Could be minimised by putting a hand rail on the footpath, and stopping the excessive speed at which bicycles and motor cycles travel on the footpath. Another thing was the saleyards. These, he considered, were in the wrong place, and the first thing to be done would be to remove them. Then the danger to traffic wculd be decreased to a great extent.

Cr Mui my, in supporting Cr Welch's statement that Alfredton should be exempt from any payment, said that in his opinion no traffic of any kind came into Masterton from Alfredton. Cr Colquhoun was of opinion that the work mostly affected the. bor' ough, and should be carried out by the Borough Council. Cr Welch said that the Borough Council would take the work out of the County's hands, and do it themselves. At the same time '< he County Council would have to pay its share. Cr Colquhoun did not see how the could take the work out of the County's hands. Cr Welch: "By means of a Royal Commission, which was nearly decided upon some time ago." Cr Toogood considered that a Royal Commission, if appointed, would report in favour of the County. Eventually Cr Welch amended his motion in the direction of providing for a committee of the whole Council to consider the financial aspect of the question, the committee to meet on September 9th at 2 p.m. The motion was carried unanimously.