Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-07
WORKING ON A BLUFF.
Chief Bigelow Explains How He
Made People Lay Pavements.
CONTENTS OF THE NEW ORDINANCE.
Sidewalks Must Be Laid Under Same Regu-
latiOns as Streets.
A MAJORITY CAN DECIDE ON MATERIAL

Supreme Court knocked ou. the general
street legislation of 1889 was considered
yesterday afternoon by the Committee
on Highways, and the meeting was one of
the livelest held for months. The ordi-
nance was presented several months ago in
blank, only the title appearing, which read:
can ordinance designating the kind and
quality Of sidewalk, the kind and quality
and the setting of curbstone, laying of side
walk and fixing the width and regulating
the construction and repair of the same"
When the blank ordinance was referred
to the Public Works Committee Common
Councilman Wright objected to following a
frequent custom of recommending it to
Councils in that form and allowing the City
Engineer of Chief of Public Works to fill
in the contents. This action delayed the
document, and it was only last week made
ready for consideration and referred to the
subcommittee. When the committee met
yesterday afternoon Chief Bigelow was
present and said:
Chief Bigelow Poses a Buffer.
''This bill has been prepared by the City
Attorney, with the assistance of the City
Engineer and myself, and is made according
to the new street laws. Make any altera
tion in it you deem proper, but not con-
f1icting with that act. There are six differ
ent kinds of pavement included in it. If
you want others put them in to make the
ordinance as fair and as complete as posi-
BILE. We have no law for sidewalks, have
had none for year, and complaints are
coming in from all quarters about sidewalks
out of repair. but we cannot dc anything
to better them until we have law such as
this
DR.. c. Evans-How, then, have you been
serving me and others with notices, and
compelling us to put down sidewalks the
past summer?
Chief Bigelow-Simp1y by bluff We
have not had particle of authority to do
it, but have bluffed people this year into
putting down miles and miles of side
walks.
DIR. Evans-But suppose they had refused
to be bluffed
Chief Bigelow-If they had. the matter
would have ended there. We could not
have compelled them. can say, however,
that our blufing has not cost the city
cent, and we have many miles of good side
walks on account of it.
prise to the committee, and good deal of
amusement at the expense of DR. Evans,
who had been ''bluffed" into laying con-
siderable sidewalk. The ordinance was
taken up and considered by sections.
The first action places all sidewalks,
curbing, boardwalk LAYING under the super
vision and direction of the Public Works
Department, and fixes the width of side
walks on 20, "a, 40, and As foot streets, at 3,
5, g. and 10 feet respectively, and one-fifth
of the street width on streets of widths
other than the above. Boardwalks shall be
four feet wide.
Can Only Use Certain Materials.
The second section provides that when
streets have smooth pavements, as asphalt,
regular block stone or paving brick, the
sidewalks must be paved with fagstone,
artificial or granolithic stone or asphalt;
and IN streets paved with cobble or irregu-
lar block stone the sidewalks must be flag
stone or brick The third section prescribes
the manner of preparing foundation for
the six kinds of sidewalks mentioned and
nearly all the balance of the bill gives the
standard specifications for preparing and
LAYING them.
The general provisions of the ordinance
give the Chief of Public Works power to
determine the width of sidewalks to secure
uniformity. He is authorized to notify
abutting property owners to lay or repair
sidewalks and if they fail within 20 days he
may do the work and make the owner pay
for it, as under the old law.
As the consideration of the bill pro-
gressed Mr.. Ferguson and Dr. Evans OBJ
jected to many of its provisions, Mr.. Fergu-
son frequently getting highly excited, and
rising from his chair. Chief Bigelow ex-
planned among other things that the side
walk ordinance was subject to the general
street law, and under it, on new streets,
majority in number and interest of the in
terested owners could fix the material used
by designating the kind they desired in
petition to Councils. After three hours of
wrangling and explanation the ordinance
without amendment.