New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-01

such as the Robert Garrett and the
,Erastus Wimsn. of the Staten Island
Of crossing West-st. Many persons object to
climbing stairs. The old Knox bridge across
because Of tho steen climb nj each end Men
SELDOM used it, prefering the quicker, If less SAFE
ana cleanly, voyage OF discovery among the oy-
clone of vehicles that seemed TO be always whlring
mere. 1t was given up by-and-by TO women and
reasons sufficient to themselves. and as it was
hether eful nor ornamental. the city had 1t re-
moved.
AN ADVOCATE OF BRIDGES.
An advocate of the bridging of West-st appears
in The Engineering and Building Record which
says on the SUBJECT:
The offer of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pany 10 build a bridge from It's Cortandtst,
ferry house in NewYork City across West-st
should certainly be accepted and Controller Myers
cannot he justified in suggesting that he1ralroad
be compelled 10 pay for the privilege. The case
is very different from the common one where a
company tears the pavement up on busy streep
10 put IN horse car or cable line: In the latter
case the inconvenience 10 the public Is great ana
the advantage perhaps questionable, while WIN
regard TO the bridge the reverse is true; osdge
over West-st. would be a great convenience 10 the
thousands OF people who cross 70 the Terry every
DAY, ana also TO those who have traihc on the
street and the inconvenience caused by erecting
ana maintaining the bridge would be OF the small
est Moreover, the work Of street car companies
commonly results IN establishing very valuable
property, while the gain 20 the railroad from the
proposed bridge would be problematical ana IN
no event verr great
Westst., filled all day long with the heavy
wagon and other vehicular traffic connected wIth
the wharves, as well as horse cars is low, oadly
paved, and intoerably dirty. At the Oortlandt-st.
crossing stands policeman, whose work j.
Internationally TO filter the thousands ot-snburDan
and other passange OF the Pennsy vania railroad
through the lines of vehicles. When q crowd
collects 40 one side he stops the long lines OF rams
and horse cars 10 let IN 90 through, then permits
the teams TO pass until other crowds collect ana
so on. The result is, Of course delay all arouhu'
and consequently no incOnsidcrable money loss,
endless inconvenience. and TO the pedestrians
rather more danger from crossing than is found
in the average French duel. II there are Few accl
dents Il is because daily experience makes people
expert in lodging, and if there is little loIu com
plant II is because usage has accustomed people
TO a thing that is simply intOlerable.
state of things similar 10 that at Cortand-s';
exists at the ferry houses of the Central Railroad
OF New-Jersey. the Delaware, Lac llawanna ana
Western and the Erie Railroads. Possibly II the
Pennsylvania Railroad broke the way the others
would follow, and the whole line OF Norm EVer
ferries be made reasonably accessible. and the
bridge should be supplemented by an elevated
sidewalk continued up the streets toward Broad
way 10 the elevated depots, or ar least across
Greenwich and the other streets, which nave the
evils Of West-st without the helpful policeman.