St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-04-11
OAKLAND AVENUE EXTENSION.
Meeting of Citizens Last Evening
With the Board Of Public
Works.
Arguments Pro and Con, With Rather the
Most Pro.

There was big swarming of property own
ers, lawyers and real estate dealers at the
session of the board of public works last
evening, to hear the arguments for and
against extending Oakland avenue by an
easy grade to Pleasant avenue, suitable for
street car or other public travel, at a prob
able expense of from $50, 900 or 100000.
l. Y. D. Heard, Esq, DR.. Bryant and R.
W. Ransom, who are owners of many lots on
the hill, were greatly In favor of the improve
ment, and said it would add from 10 to 25
per cent to the value of the hill property.
Messrs. Passavant, Davis, Hendricks and
Norton, real estate dealers, were sworn, and
testified that lots in block II, Terrace park,
which would be cut through, were worth
from 81, 600 to $500 and 81, 900 each; lots
in block II, from $500 to 81, 900 each, and
that lots in Whitacre, Brisbine & Mullen's
subdivision were worth from $3.50 to 81, 900
each.
w. H. Sanborn, Esq, who owns lots to be
cut in two by the extension, made a very
strong speech against private property being
taken for private purposes, and did not seem
to think this extension was demanded by the
public. The demand of roo hill petitioners
to have twenty-five other property owners
lots used for their accommodation he did not
think was sufficient to warrant the extension,
but If 1t was made that the hill property own
ers must not only be assessed for all dam
ages to the injured lots cut for the entire
cost of grading the street. He predicted that
when the board came to make this assessment
the property owners on the hill would send
in big howl against the improvement. He
concluded by saying that it would be best for
the board at the outset to define just where
the new proposed route was to be laid, which
he admitted was an improvement on the
first survey, which the board had withdrawn
from the council, and that the cut and fill
should be shown on the engineers stakes, so
that the amount of damage and the cost of
the work could be known to all hands ex
actly, before any action was taken.
John w. Willis, Esq, followed and rec
commended the Abandonment of the extern
sion for route on Dale street and to put
cable horse cars on Ramsey hill. He pro-
posed to fight any effort to make the Oakland
avenue extension to the bitter end.
DR.. Bryant said that this extension would
be the natural thoroughfare between St. Paul
duu Mluu0dpOuS anu WOulu shorten the dis
lance between the cities fully 2,7OO feet, and
was therefore a public instead of q private
benefit. He asserted that 1000 lots on the
hill would be benefited by the improvement
instead Of 700.
The board said thot they had no thought
of opening the street for the horse cars, but
for the good of the general public, and that
should the improvement be carried forward
it would be the best grade from Seventh
street to the bluff that the city would have
1t had called the interested parties to learn
from them just how the land lay, and should
act in the premises as they thought would
best conserve the public good.
Both the property owners, advocates and
Opposers finally came to the conclusion that
they would risk the board in the matter to do
the right thing and in the expression of their
decision were quite supplementary. The
board in turn announced that they would
have the engineer fix a double line of slopes
running though the extension, showing its
width, with the number of feet of lot and fill
marked thereon and that careful estimate d.
of the damage allowing to each lot, and the
amount necessary to be assessed to
pay for the improvement and on
whose propertyit would be assessed, would
be made out and shown to those interested
before the matter was referred to the council.
Thereupon the assembly gave satisfied
yawn, tumbled to their overcoats and gums
and rushed to the street cars to be landed at
the nearest point to the hill heights some
time, evidently, to be nearer to thee.n