The sun., 1892-10-30

provementsL the south brooklyn Terry mouse.
the barge t)ncc. and u number Of tho piers
steam ship lines are only tho beginning OF the
convenient. commodious. and pleasant to tho
eve. The constructo ION Of suitable. scrvicenllc.
Wnse %a rS %fopaf decks udnei to " Tho Hsr
is @ mattsr which presents pre- lew diillcuies be.
proyemgnt Is constantly going on. i is easy
10 SEQ that in this, particular, New, York has
bS Question OF opinion. ' l's stone rier G viii, With
fncipgs OF spiles certainly presents the finest
spncarancc. but there nre many experts who
declare that such ono is not comparable with
the moro yielding and elastic construction Of a
well built wooden ricr, It Is srrobqble, there
tpt IT is certain that the entirc dock frontage
OF Manhattan Island will in the course OF time
De a nenry @ as lossiie Ideally llnshGi, ws
i;:hed docks Of tho city 10 perceive the va:tness
streets; not only with relsrenc,S to their grades
sra space. e'W W"st Street for % great part Of i,s
length affords ample room for It's traiilc L
N IS
There aro many stretches. however, along
both sides Of the, narrow and crowded lower
lowed is totally Inadequate oven to the present
necessities of traffic. AS these necessities be-
sos wen aS to bs
widened. and It is not unreasonable to SUP:
pose that tho, ultimate rlan Of the city viii
cireumference of tho island. one side of which
will be built up with business edifces. or: in
the other side will afford uninterrupted access
to the docks. to which passengers and freight
viii be brought from all parts Of the world.
With this for n start IT is difficult to see nny.
radical improvement on the general plan OF
Of the city. which now run, as thcv should.
lcnrthwise OF tho sito. There arc. It Is true, q
number Of neiGhborhoods in which moro di.
rect access to these main avenues might be
provided by cutting new streets. or strnight-
snng some thnt Ire % now % existent, n but speak a
be said that it is correct. Such Strengthening
and widening as may prove to be necessary in
part OF the city vii be found to present no en.
Gineering ,dinisulties OF importapce. and VIII
n m"nt viii I Justify the expense. Tie OPENING
81 Worth street through the old FiEs r"in
are examples familiar to all Now Workers.. and
demonstrate fully not only the feasibility but
the advantages OF this form OF Improvement.
1t pays for its cost sooner perhaps. than all
most any other municipal work,
cutting OF now streets. which may he and
| probably will be found necessary to perfect
| the approaches from the water front to tho
| can reach the ideal that number Of the mar
| row streets in thu. lower part OF tho city must
metropolis was merely vinge. they sufflced
we'll enough then for tho traffic. but are now
Provided tiat the cross streets we're sufl-
nnderstan anding of the city's needs shows TINT
wiioned i i in ii>sn sons places Tho ,reausnt CON-
gestion Of travel in various places in the lower
community because it is u tax that is never
paid In fnll than the cost OF these wi1eninGs
"Adan%uoto % en,oo for tbo conetontIv increoa
secured ny widening the streets. Too much
therefore, probable that some hold eSpedient
will he adopted to supplement- the street ser
easble than The sanG Of ne arse nn
mel directly across from river to river, Such n
tunnel would be- . Of course; destined only for
Eeen Kind to Now ORR. ior at the. very place
service namely. under. John and Dey streets.
the conformation OF the land is particularly
favorable fay, The tunnel can be. and probably
Will! be constructed some day.
In its upper and newer portions New York Is
laid out ,tolerahly we'll. though In tho future
there will doubtless. be additional streets cut
son and Lexington avenues were cut through
because & 2f the too great length Of the inter;
Ha" the sas Of lots
would doubtless DO in some respects an i'm
provement The increased cost e lighting.
cleaning. and policing these additional thor
SSee the somrapativey small ff they
%Hua ID es W hst the the psn
provements, already suggested. may be con-
sidered sufficiently near the ideak
The suggestion next in order seems to be a
classification Of streets with reference to their
uses. Probably such q classification could
certain that some streets would be specially
fadartsd for the heaviest traffic and some for
lighter. Some would be devoted to passenger
-
coul! not. Of course. be- strictly enforced. nor
would it tie desirable that they should be. 1t
should be made. so that proper provisions
should be mnde in the street CONSTRUCTION and
found to conform to the arrangement. This
would be in accordance with the law OF nature.
that travel. like water. will always follow the
line OF least resistance.
II would follow that the avenues along the
water front. certain Of the cross streets and mt
least one OF the main avenues on each side OF
heaviest tralc. The principal difference be-. be-
tween these and other streets would he. as will
hs seen presently. in tho matter OF pavements.
Such other differences 'ns in tho character OF
the houscsl as might be desirable would nat;
than any that could be pla nned ahead
beyond this classification. and calling for n
provision outside OF 1t. there exists II necessity
carriage for freight. The legitimato uses Of
H." s,r"S,s fr1r%, tori il that they should be
II is mani.stly impracticab!e to provide rapid
transit worthy nl the name on the street sur
face. That fact is already recognized in tho
system now in use. OF elevated railroads. but
that system. as at present operated. excellent
as Is the service 1t renders is already mad
eIuate. and i to lie supplemented. Ii is not
ideally perfect hv any means. and within tho
next century it will te Justly regarded rs an
experimental l"Ginnin. OF some great work
that will worthy of tn" city
1t would . manfestIy rrcsumptuous to at-
tempt TO dcscribn IN detail the system that
will ~ last be- found satisfactory. only fow
negative qualities can lc specified. without
which IT will fall short Of Ill" ideal II must
not b, under ground. FOR so it will lnil'in at.
trnctycnrss and POSSIBLY in heuithfuluess IL
must not interfere, even to the rSt"ut t., which
the ri lars and stairs OF the present elevated
roads icrforu with tho free u.c o! the streets
and sidewalks Of the City 1t must not. by
noise. smoke. or oder. disturb the peucs and
comfort Of those nnr;s Of tho city through
which. it nasso4,,, The probIcm Of supplying
transit that shall br safe, comfortable. and
really rapid. inside these limitations. /, one
that is not yet solved, but in view Of tho
fact that some 81 The host engineers Of tho
age AZ" graphing with it today it /, not
too much to declare that 1t will Ia
solved sat atisfactoriIy at no very distant day
When it SHAH ho. and not before. New York
will have its ideal highways for rapid transit
II is probable that electricity will he the mo.
tive power. 1t is certain that access to it will
f,t lao. nf Stuir ~.