§ MR. BAILLIEsaid, he wished to ask the First Commissioner of Works whether, in pursuance of the recommendation of the Metropolitan Improvement Committee of 1855, he has been able to devise any plan for relieving the great increase of traffic which now passes through Parklane, and has become so dangerous to the public? Also, whether there would be any objection to open to the public the road through the park from Stanhope-street-gate to Hyde Park corner?
§ SIR BENJAMIN HALLsaid, that the Committee of 1855 had recommended that one of the first openings which should be made for facilitating the traffic of the metropolis should be a road from Piccadilly through Hamilton place and on to Stanhope-street-gate. In consequence of that recommendation, he, in the course of last year, had proposed to take some steps with the view of carrying if into effect; he had, however, been at once met by an objection to his scheme upon the part of eight or nine persons residing in Hamilton-place. To test the validity of that objection, the case was laid before the law-officers of the Crown, and they had given it as their opinion that it was valid. He had, therefore, been unable to take any further steps in the matter. In reply to the second question, he might state that, in his opinion, there was serious objection to throwing open the road from Stanhope-street-gate to Hyde Park-corner. If it were open for traffic by day, it was equally necessary that it should be open also by night, and the result would be, that the whole of the park would be open by night—a state of things which he felt assured no hon. Member would wish to have brought about. He should add, that it was quite obvious that great inconvenience arose from the narrow state, of park-lane, but under the Act of 1855 power was vested in certain local authorities to purchase land, with the view of widening thoroughfares, and if that were done in the present instance he should not hesitate to say that a great improvement would be effected.