The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-10-02
Is the Opportunity for Max
ing Them Double to Be
Lost for a Gener-
alton ?
Mr.. BONN's PRACTICAL PROPOSAL.
0restes Cleveland Suppressed 1t
a Year Ago Property
Owners Views.
lR. BoNN's PRACTICAL PROPOSAL.
Eighteen Inches of Each Sidewalk
Required to Realize
the Scheme.

About year ago when it was first pro
posed to repave Grove street fro m New
ark avenue to the Hoboken line, Presi-
dent Bonn, of the North Hudson County
Railway Company wrote letter to Act
ing Mayor Cleveland. in which he made
proposition, which he thought would
be of great benefit to the property owners
along Grove street, and to the city as well
as to the North Hudson County Railway
Company. Mr.. Bonn's proposition briefly
was that the city should take eighteen
inches from each sidewalk on that section
of Grove street 80 as to make the street
wide enough for a double track. Mr..
Bonn also suggested that the city, his
company and the Erie Railroad Company
enter into an arrangement for tunnelllng
Grove street under the tracks of the Erie
Company. His company. Mr.. Bonn said,
would bear fair share OF the expenses
of both OF these improvements.
The acting Mayor was requested by
Mr.. Bonn in the letter to have the two
propositions laid before the public SO
that they could be thoroughly discussed
and the opinion of the people obtained as
to the advisability of carrying the
schemes through. How well His Fraud
ulency has complied with that reasonable
request is plainly seen by the amount of
since, and the comparatively small num-
ber of people VINO ever heard of either
scheme before. called upon Mr.. Bonn last
evening and asked him If he would give
The JERSEY CITY NEWS the details OF the
proposition which he made in his letter
TO the remains of Orestes Cleveland. He
replied that he would willingly do SO and
went on to say
PRESIDENT BoNNs PROPOSITION
sGrove street as was originally laid out
has roadway thirty feet in width, with
sidewalk fifteen feet In width on each
side. When the question of repavlng
Grove street first came up wrote to Mr..
Cleveland a letter in which suggested
that the city widen the road bed three
feet by taking foot and half from each
sidewalk aud setting back the curb that
distance. This would enable us TO lay a
double track through Grove street. Our
tracks are five feet wide and we would
want q space OF four feet between the
tracks for people to stand in, besides
space of eighteen inches outside OF the
two outer rails for the extension OF the
body of the cars over the wheels. This
would make seventeen feet of the street
which we would occupy, leaving eight
feet on each side between our outer rail
and the curb, which is sufficient space for
the largest truck to pass.
by the ordinance under which our
Grove street line obtained its right of
way we are obliged to pave and keep in
repair all the space we occupy on the
street. This would compel us to pave
and keel a repair seventeen feet of the
street, ID ring but sixteen feet Tor the
city to look after. The pavement wh a
we are required to put down by the or
dinance, however. is specified as Belgium
blocks which are not so expensive as the
granite blocks with which the street is
now being paved, and we will only con
tribute toward the cost of those blocks
such sum as an equal space OF Belgium
blocks would cost.
II also proposed to Mr.. Cleveland in
my letter that the authorities ascertain
what the entire cost of widening and re-
paving the street, setting back the curb
would be, and said that our company
would pay fair share OF the cost We
were anxious to do the work, as we
thought that q double track through
Grove street would be a great benefit TO
the public and would enhance the value
of property along the route by making
the street more OF business thorough
fare than it Is now and bring more peo-
pie there OF course il would benefit the
company as well, and the company was
perfectly willingto bear its fair proper
tion of the expense.
ATUNNEL IN GROVE STREET.
"If it were not for the Erie Railroad our
cars on Grove street would not be Obliged
to cross any tracks. That is when the
Pennsylvania elevated tracks are in use
ever the entire route. We cross the Erie
tracks over five hundred times day and
over one hundred and eighty thousand
times year, and 1t is only the extreme
carefulness of our drivers that saves us
from accidents. Some time ago | asked
Myles Tierney, the contractor. if it would
be feasible to tunnel Grove street under
the Eries tracks. There is no hope, you
know, of the Erie company's ever elevat-
ing the tracks. Its tunnel ends at the
II oil ftcf i'm
possible for the company TO elevate the
tracks as the Pennsylvania people are
now doing, and the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna and Western people have already
done, as both the Pennsylvania cut and
the Delaware and Lackawanna tunnel
come out at the grade of these elevations:
ssMr. Tierney told me that the tunnel
could be built easily enough. My pro-
position to Mr.. Cleveland was that our
company, the city authorities and the
Erie people should consider the subject.
and each bear their fair share or the cost.
1t can be seen at a glance by any one
whose business requires him to cross the
Erie road ut Grove street, and who has
been compelled TO wait there by drilling
freight trains, what an immense benefit
this would be to the gdblic. But Mr..
Cleveland did not agitate the matter
much. and nothing came of either
scheme. 1t would be too late now to do
ANYTHING in regard to widening Grove
street this year. II would be almost inn
possible for us to get the rails and
material ready for the double track and
finish the work before the bad weather
sets Ia, besides the curb is reset. and the
new pavement laid on Grove street tor
some distance"
WHAT THE PROPERTY OWNERS SAY.
visited several of the larger properly
owners along Grove street after. seeing
Mr. Bonn and, laying that gentleman's
propostion before them, asked what
they thought of the scheme. Everyone
spoken to about it thought that lS would
be an excellent idea, but they varied as
TO who should bear the expense Some
agreed that the city and company should
bear the expense, as Mr. Bonn proposed,
but there were several who were of the
opinion that, as the widening OF the
street would be mainly for the benefit Of
Mr.. Bonn's company, he should bear al
the expense Of setting back the curb.
Mr.. Louis v. Booraen, who represents
the owners of large amount OF property
ON Grove street, said that he would have
recommended the scheme to his people
had he heard of it in time, but whether
fhey would have acquiesced In 1t he
rftf