Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-02-23
STREET IMPROVEMENTS.
Some Extremely Economical Plans Sue
gested for Streets and Walks

Some Extremely Economical Plans Suc-
gested for Streets and Walks.
Living on NJ street, am passing through
grading and prospective gravehng ex-
perience. What I know now is less, of
course, than what l shall know when we
have graded and graveled. But now is
the time when information should be
sought-and, in my opinion, time when
invention should be invoked in the inter-
est of our streets. The notion is becoming
quite current that grading of itself is of no
use, but grading must have gravel on top
to make it last. The gravel, too, disap-
pears in large degree unless it is thick
coat and extends over the whole street. To
gravel and grade at once costs from 50 to So
a front foot, and this is too much for a
great many to bear. So we meet with
many drawbacks in working our way out
of the mud and into solid rock or gravel
1t has been thought that to gravel the
center of the street would remedy the ques-
ton of cost, but the answer is forthcoming
that if partially graveled, the gravel disap-
pears in year or two and our investment
Is dead loss. 1t hence becomes ques-
ton whether graveling part of the street
can be made success. | propose to an
curbing be placed toward the center of the
street instead of at the outside. Take two
inch boards twelve or fourteen inches wide;
rie them together with two by six studing
and throw the gravel between and we have
street strong enough to bear any weight.
and having given good coat of gravel /
can never disappear. There is as much
timber and as much strength in such q
curb as there is in street car stringer on
which rail is laid, and if q light rail were
placed on the street crossing it would prac-
tically last for all time
Some may say that the curbing should
be thicker and not SO broad, but am of
the opinion that if the curbing board is set
deeper in the ground that it will go very
far toward preventing the spread of the
gravel; but if it should be made soua e.
II would still cost the same as the curbing
that is now used on the side of the street.
The scantling iron driven down to hold the
curblng in place is equal, or nearly equal,
to that that would be required for the lies.
1t is not improbable that tie more sub
stantial could be used, Or some other form
adopted, that would strengthen this curb.
ing more. without any greater cost, could
be suggested
| firmly believe that by this means a
graveled str, ct can be made with the same
expenditure for curbing that is now made
that the street can thus be made so sub
stantial that there will be no loss of ground
and no failure of streets that we shall have
substantial driyeways, substantial crossings
for teams, and, at best, but little more cost
than we at present incur
BY doing this, many streets car be made
first-rate, only not SO wide. Very many
streets have only o few teams passing daily,
and usually one or two at a time. There is
practically no use for vide streets in streets
far out of the travelled thoroughfares. In
such places, too, it is folly to make such
wide crossings for foot travel. One good
board fourteen inches wide, to Law in the
SOIL for almost non use, is as good as three
boards Ii there is not room TO pass each
other let it be remembered that the travel
is light, and neighbor could wait on The
sidewalk a half minute til the other is
over.
hope no one will ask what will be done
about curbing fer the sidewalk. | hope no
one will refuse to have good street, be-
cause we can't have with it good sidewalk
too. The sidewalk at the edge would be
very nice If II We're overgrown with grass
and narrow board would be at least mex
petsive. There would be small price to
pay for good graveled street BY this
method l truly believe the question Of con
unual construction and waste of our streets
and our money can be stopped. Il is truly
Encouraging TO have to do anything of this
kind over and over again and still be al
ways /. 'undering IN the mud
II Is my opinion that the construction of
streets is TO be encouraged all over the city,
even if they were only as wide as a street
car track. e., wide enough tor one team
But, of course, it will be very seldom that
street not wide enough for two teams to
pass each other would be made
OF course, the width of these can be in
creased as the demands upon them in
creases. An additional board for footmen
can be laid when one is found insufficient.
Asst is, nearly all the street crossings in the
outskirts are without crossings at all, and
even If one wide one is found on each
block, il is less useful than if there were
more, if even narrower. F.M. SHIELDS.