, 1881-05-29
CHICAGO STREET PAVEMENIS.

Gen, ,Sooy Smith, the weli-knoWn civil
engineer, has recently returned from Europe
with some valuable hints as to street-paving.
Ills observations while abroad, and especially
i'll the City OF London, have convinced him it
is not necessary that Chicago should abandon
the wooden payencuts, as many people have
begun to believe Of late years, but that these
payemeats may be constructed i'll such man
ler rs to cunpare .favorably with other
payeinents in durability. In other respects
their superiority is conceded. The practice
in London is to lay substratum Of concrete,
a,:ut,t four inches thick, in bed Of sand,
then to lay the blocks in asphaltu1n and Till
in the spaces with more concrete. The wood
is solid and wcll-scasonc.i. Gen. Smith says
tie approach to London Bridge, which
sustains larger amount of travel than any
other spot IN the world, and is paved after
this fashion, has been in use during the past
four years aud shows small sign Of wear.
OF course the construction of wooden pave
rnents on this plan entails greater cost
III the first instance, but 1t is probably
more economical in tho end than the cheap
and nilnsv process which has been used i'll
Chicago. The deficiencies Of wooden pave
ments in this city have been twofold,- first,
the lack Of proper foundation, and, secondly,
tho use Of rotten pine blocks. Even such Il
foundation rs Gen. Smith describes might
fail to insure solility unless the substratum
Of earth had been packed down thoroughly;
newly-iilled streets, in which the tilling coii-
sists of ashes and refuse matter us well as
loose dirt, will not sustain any kind Of pave
ment without giving way i'll places.
The Committee Of the Common Council, OF
Which ex-Ald. Clark was Chairman, was
right, however, Ill c0ntendiNg that all the
streets should not be paved with the same
kind Of material. The character and degree
Of travel over certain thorougl1farc, ald
the uses to which the adjoining property is
devoted for the most part, should be
taken into consideration i'll determining
the kind of pavement to be adopt
ed. Noslcsness is not SO important
quality as touGhness and durability
in streets which run i'll the immediate neigh
borhoou Of railway dcpots, large warehouses,
and the heavier lines Of wholesale business.
Traffic naturally groups itself by occupations
in a city, and the strcct-pavemerts may be
regulated accordingly. So. in the newer
sections Of the city, where the streets llago
been recently filed in to correspond with the
grade, it is unwise to lay what is intended to
be a permanent pavement. Broken grant,
with cheap top-tlressing Of gravel that can
be renewed without great cost, Is a sensible
sort of pavement for such locality, as it will
prepare solid foundation for any surface
that may be ultimately selected.
Some policy mlst be adopted III this city
without delay which will assure uniformly
good streets within the business and thickly
populated districts. The loss to business
may be counted BY tens of thousands of dol
lars annually III the delays, the accidents,
a1ll the wear and tear on wagons
and horses that might be avoided by a thor
ouSh system of strect-payements. Driving
for pleasure las almost ceased to be popu-
lar amusement, and s.reet-car riding is gen.
orally preferred for convenience, comfort,
and expedition because nj the vile condition
of our thoroughfares outside the parks and
boulevards. It is not possible to estimate
tile damage done to the city by the bad name
which strangers give its streets, but it is GER
tain that no one visits Chicago who does not
20 away thoroughly Disguised with its
streets, and such Il feeling largely obscures
the other attractions and evidences Of net
ropolitanism. These are prosperous times,
and The property-owncrs eau well afford to
pay for general street improvements if they
can be assured Of honest work and durable
payements. # such improvements be post
poned till hard times come again Chicago