THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1901.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 100, 10 September 1901, Page 2

THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1901.

This morning will Bee a trial of the County Council's road grader , on the Borough streets, a fact of i much greater importance than - appears at first sight, for if the , machine is found to successfully cope with the requirements of the Borough, it will herald tho disappearance of the old method of cleaning, and the introduction i of another much more suited to present-day requirements. For a long time the roadß on the outskirts of the town have been practically neglected, simply because the Council's surfacemen were unable- to overtake the work, although they were able to, make the main streets somewhat presentable. The present idea is merely an experiment to see if the grader, in conjunction With a plough, will clean out the channels, making work equal to hand at a much greater speed. In this we see little difficulty, for the same plan has been followed in the county, which has in very many places roads and side channels that would be very acceptable in the Borough. There is a great deal of work to be done all round the Borough, bo much that one would be almost puzzled where to start first, and the need of reform is very great. Here and there one may see Btreets with a grass-grown crown, underneath which is almost unworn metal, further on is a road with absolutely no crown, while again ! another is met with which has : been worn down to the formation on either side, presenting a positive quagmire during rainy weather. With this array of work the surfaceman cannot cope. All the roads need putting t in good order at once, and then t they might be maintained with . little trouble, but otherwise there I seems little hope of general im- ; provement, nnless at great expense. There is one direction in which we think the Borough Council is too prodigal, and that is in the use of tar for both footpaths and streets. It is not } necessary to prepare the ordinary -. asphalt, but simply to run a couple of coats of hot tar on a. ■ road or path which bus been swept free of stones and made reasonably smooth. This gives a splendid travelling surface, and will stand unlimited wear, besides , reducing the presence of dust to a minimum. By this w method sueh footpaths as those on Higb street, which are now a terror to pedestrians and a disgrace to the , Borough, would be made equal to the pavements in town at a fraction of the cost. Now supposing the street were prepared, ' the channels cleaned, and the whole surface tarred, there would be no further question of chipping of weeds ; that * would be done for all time. We would like to have one street completely finished in the manner we suggest, and have no do'ibt it would be the forerunner of a complete adoption of this up-to-date method of dealing with public thoroughfares.