Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-06-24
Abou, streets a~.a Their Grades.

The hills are in q little bit of hubbub
just st present over the question Of
charging the grades of some of the
streets. The grade on Temple street is
not good, anG the double track of the
cable road renders its use more difficult
than it was before to carry on heavy
traffic over this thoroughfare. First
street, as it is, counts for nothing
as means OF travel to
and rom the business center.
Second street has gradients SO steep as to
render it useless excepting for the light
est sort of vehicles. Third, Fourth, Fifth
and Sixth streets are all impossible west
of Hill on Pearl. The hubbub at pres
ent is over certain proposed changes in
Temple, First and Second. The first
named two streets are already in the
courts, and the other will get there just
as soon as any movement is made in the
direction of changing the grade. This is
very vexations and serious thing to at
i4empt. Whatever rights the general
public have over the matter of street
gradients, when these are first
established, are very much mar
rowed when the question of changing
established grades arises. Take as
an example the proposed change Of
on Second street. This looks to cutting
through the hill from Hill street to
Pearl on dead level. The cut at Olive
street is twenty seven feet, and at Grand
avenue and Bunker Hill it is nearly
ninety feet. The object of this is
to make Second street a main thorough
fare from the hills west of Pearl to Main
street. The argument is that thereby
the property along the street all the way
out to the Woolen Mill tract will become
business property. The argument is
specious, but will not hold. Even il all
the hill between First and Third streets
were cut to the level of the new street, ii
would be no more than a canal over
which all travel north or south would be
cut off. For business purposes it would
be a big cul. de-sac, as business will not
run in blind alleys. The argument is fall
lacious. The cutting of First street will
make business property of the block lying
between First, Second, Hill and Olive, for
the reason that all travel north and south
can reach this block.
To make the larger area here outlined
business property would require that it
be further extended 30 as to take
in all from Temple street to the
Normal School. If the hills inside these
bounds were cut down, the area between
Temple and Fifth streets, and Spring
and Main and Pearl would be one of the
choicest business properties in the city.
But stop and count the cost! Then there
are hundreds of pieces of prop
erty which would be worth
less for business after paying for the
grading than they are to-day for resid-
dence purposes. 1t must not be forgotten
that most of the property here is i'm
proved on the basis of the existing
grades. In hundreds of cases the i'm
provements are very costly. There are
houses all over this area which cost
So 900, 0,000, $25 900 and even $50,.
OO0. The sum OF the value of these inn
provements, and of sidewalks and sewers
is enormous. It would bankrupt the
city to pay for it all. To cut the canal
through Second street alone is simply q
matter of absolute confiscation of the Nor
ris property for the benefit of another, and
would never be allowed by any court Of
equity in the land. The Second street
cut in San Francisco is the last Of its
sort that can be made. 1t is thing that
cannot be duplicated. There is no need
of any hubbub on the hill. The ninety
feet cut will not be made.