Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-01-03
been often said, to secure its repeal is tc
thoroughly enforce it.

STREETS.
The general public are most concerned
in the subject of streets That our prin-
cipal streets, beyond that portion paved,
are not in so good a condition as they
should be, few will seriously deny, and
until they can be permanently improved
by paving, or temporarily by surface hard
ening, their condition will not be much
changed.
Early last year the road board determin-
ed to utilize the street crusher the city has
long owned, and make the experiment of
top dressing with crushed stone. The
right was secured from the Meriden rail
road to set the crusher in the ledge at
Cheshire notch, the railroad making no
charge for stone except the price of haul
ing, that charge being so cents per ton.
The city has crushed and laid about 200
tons, covering about 6, 440 yards, at cost,
for that portion south of the green, at GAL
cents per yard, and that laid on East main
street, of 500 cents per yard. Crushed
stone was laid south of the green to a
depth of eight inches, and on East Main
street to the depth of six inches. The
figures above include the cost of quarry
i'm, crushing, freight, carting, spreading and
rolling. When the city has had further
experience the cost will be somewhat
reduced. 1 believe the work at Crusher
could be contracted to good advantage, at
some fixed price per ton delivered on the
cars. The stone is of excellent qua itv,
and I consider it good policy to substi
tute it as rapidly as possible in place of
dirt
1t is not intended to take the place of
block pavement, and, on streets having
much heavy traffic, particularly harrow
ones, will not be a success. although a
great improvement over the dirt now
used
The quarry at Cheshire can be further
utilized in furnishing paving blocks at a
cost in the ratio of abont thirty to
seventy as compared with the price of
granite blocks, whenever the Council shall
see fit to do further paving I consider it
mistake to stop the work of block
paving entirely; for there is no work
done upon streets having heavy traffic,
so satisfactory as that of paving.
The board of road commissioners re-
commended the passage of an ordinance,
providing a penalty for the failure of
individuals to comply with the orders of
the Council relating to streets. The board
of aldermen promptly passed such an
ordinance but the board of councilmen,
not being able to see why anyone should
be compelled to obey its orders, as prompt
ly tabled it.
Such an ordinance should be passed at
OuC0. "A pOFIlOu VI Tic luudDlldnlS along
street will always chcerfully and
promptly comply with an order, only to
see their work of no avail and sometimes
destroyed by the failure of others to do
| their work. The only remedy the city
now has is to do the work it has properly
ordered others to do, which is often i'm
possible where appropriations are low.
| The entire appropriations for new work
| for the current year could be expended in
i -
but neglected to do.
An ordinance might also be passed with
good result requiring all owners of heavy
l teams and trucks to use wheels with broad
tires BY this means the wear and tear
4 on our streets would be greatly diminish
ed, and instead of destroying, the passage
of every heavily loaded team might be
| made to improve them. If every four
wheeled freight wagon were so construct
/ ed that the hind wheels would not "track'
| the forewhees, and with tires six inches in
width, two feet of the road would be well
| rolled at every passage of such vehicle.
This result is accomplished upon the toll
| roads in some countries by a lesser toll for
| such vehicles. If such an ordinance should
seem ha' sh. the same result might be ac-
complished by some abatement in taxation
which might be justified by the deminish
ed wear upon the streets. An ordinance
could afterwards be passed causing little
/ hardship.
Before leaving the subject of streets,
desire to say few words concerning the
work done by the board of road commits
| sioners. The members of this board are
also members of the board of sewer com
missioners, and in either of these boards,
| far more work devolves upon the mem
bers than upon the members of all other
city boards. Not only are the sessions
more frequent and much longer, but at
their homes, upon the streets, and in their
several places of business, they are never
free from interruption. They receive no
the public and a great deal
of fault finding. Out of the great
number of meritorious petitions, they can
relieve but few, through lack of funds,
and in doing their duty, they must pro-
woke more or less i'll will. The members
of this board should receive some COM
D .nsatiou or should be relieved OF a por-
ton of the work now required of them.
The board cannot now give the subject of
laying out, opening and improving streets
according 10 some fixed plan or policy,
the study and attention such work needs;
and if the work is not done according to
some general plan, it is apt to be patch
work at best.
The remedy that suggests itself is the
employment OF man especially educated
in road making, who shall have the gener-
al oversight of the laying out and opening
of streets and of all permanent improve
ments thereon; who shall see that nc
streets are opened by individuals, except
under authority of the court of common
council, and then strictly in conformity tc
such authority. Such an official should
be responsible to the court of common
council, as the board of road commission
ers now is in such work, and that board
be relieved of all work except that of re
pairs. Such an official, fully competent
would save the city many times his salary
and cause streets hereafter opened to b.
according to a plan that would mucf
better meet the requirements of the neal
future, than The plans of individual specu
lators whose only idea is to get the great
est number of building lots out of thiel
tracts.
SEWERS.
One of the most important matters tina
you may be called to act upon is the dis
} posal of city sewage, otherwise than by
turning it into the Naugatuck river. Tha
such change will soon be necessary il
Tho 5ifforaDt rnathOdS n