St. Paul daily globe., 1886-09-11
CITY IMPROVEMENTS.


The proposition now pending before the
board of public works looking to the
widening of Como avenue and the improve
ment of Como boulevard, gives that body
an opportunity to do something that ought
to have been done long ago. that is, to de-
wise and agree upon some general and sys-
tematic plan of park and boulevard I'M
provementS, We do not mean to say that
the board of public works ought to adopt
the Como improvement suggestion, for that
is something which we have not considered
carefully and about which we are not pre-
pared to speak advisedly. But what we
do mean to say is that if there is any one
thing that the city of st. Paul has been
peglectful of it is in making provision for
park and boulevard improvements, and the
city has now reached that stage in its de-
velopment when it becomes absolutely
necessary that this matter shall re-
ceive consideration. This deficit ID
our system of public improvements
has largely grown out of the rapid growth
of the city within the last five or six years,
and the consequent hurry which has at
tended the work of extending the public
improvements to meet the actual require
ment of the city's phenomenal growth. The
result of this hurry has been more or less
confusion, or rather lack of system, IN
making public improvements. The work
has been done too much by piece-meal
or catch-as-you-ean principle, and not in
accordance with an intelligent and carefully
c--r@ n
considered plan not intended to fulfill
merely the present demands of the city, but
to be part Of system which will exactly
fill out and fit together when the city shall
have attained the proportions it is likely to
reach quarter Of a century hence. 1t IS
true that the city is already provided with
some very lovely parks, and we have
some beautiful suburban driveways,
but each improvement of this character
has been done on an entirely distinct and
independent basis from the others, no one
having any relation to the others. It is
time that this desultory method of making
public improvements should cease.
The narrownesS of our streets is matter
of constant regret to our citizens. 1t is a
subject of universal complaint that at least
one street through the central ond business
part of the city had not been widened suf-
ficiently to make it a pleasant public drive
way. This defect was felt more particu-
larly last winter during the carnival season,
when at least one Street of unusual width
would have been appreciated for the accom-
mediation of the professions. And at that
time it was suggested through the public
press that the city would be justified in Or
dering the widening of Eighth and Min
nesota streets with a special view to
the parades and professions of the future.
Those two streets we're mentioned particu-
larly because neither of them had been
built up with business blocks and because
they would give a proper line of procession
to Central park. which will be the site of
our ice palaces and carnival headquarters
in the future. This. as well as the pro-
posed Como improvement and the numer-
Gus other suggestions that have been made
relating to public improvements, might be
taken under consideration by the board of
public works at this time. The GLOBE is
not the champion of any special scheme,
nor is it disposed to discourage any pro-
posed improvement that has merit in it, but
itdOes insist that whatever is done now or in
the future shall be a part of a general and
well-defned plan of public improvements.