The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-09-14
THE PA VzNG OF BROAD STREET.

THE PA WING OF BROAD STREET.
EVERY citizen of Philadelphia is Interested
in the improvement of Broad street, especially
in that portion of the work of Improvement
that must be paid for by the public. 1t has
been decided by the courts that the property
holders on Broad street cannot be compelled
to bear the expense of new pavement, SO
that if one is laid down the cost of it will be
imposed upon the city. That this work ought
to be undertaken Immediately notwithstand-
ing the large outlay that it will involve, no
one will dispute. The condition of Broad
street, below Coates street, is disgraceful,
and if it is ever to become the magnificent
drive and promenade that is expected,
the first thing to be done is
to take up the cobble-stones
and to lay in their place the best and cheapest
pavement that can be devised. We do not
pretend to advocate at the present time any
one of the many pavements that are being
urged upon the public attention, but merely
insist upon the necessity of discarding the
cobble-stones as the first step in the march of
improvement, and the selection of that sub
stitute which offers the most advantages in
the way of durability, cheapness, and surface
1t is probable that the subject of choosing
pavement for Broad street will be urged
upon the attention of Councils as soon as
they assemble, and it is the plain duty of
our municipal legislature to decide fairly
and impartially in the interests of the public
and not in the interests of any particular
individual or paving companies. The agents
of the various rival pavements are eagerly
pressing their claims upon all who are
supposed to have any influence in
the matter, and there are rumors
of "set-up job" to obtain the acceptance of
one particular pavement by the city without
regard to the merits or demerits of others.
A special committee was appointed about two
years ago to investigate the merits of the
various styles of paving, and as its members
have been travelling about from Cincinnati
to Boston and from Chicago to Washington,
at the expense of the different paving COM
panies, it is certainly time that their report
was forthcoming; and the public will expect
that the report shall be strictly impartial,
having in view only the interests of the city.
The Nicolson pavement on North Broad
street is a standing argument in favor of
wood as paving material over stone or any
other substance that has yet been proposed.
1t is open to serious doubt, however, whether
the Nfcelson is by any means the best pave
ment that can be devised, as it has been
found necessary to repair it after less than
three years wear. Any pavement that is put
down on Broad street ought to last ten years
at least, without continual tinkering to keep
it in order; and as it is probable that the
cobble-stones will be taken up in
few years, and all our streets
paved in the style of Broad
street, provided the pavement chosen for that
thoroughfare meets with the approval of the
public, it is of the utmost consequence that a
fair, candid, and wise decision should be
made now when this great public enterprise
is in its incipiency. City Councils will meet
tomorrow, and it is to be hoped that this
matter will engage their thoughtful atten-
tion Immediately, and that they will act upon
it promptly and with the single intention of
serving the public interests in the most per-
feet manner, without fear, favor, or par
tiality.