The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-20
NAY PAVE WEST BROAD.
The Ordinance for Re-PaVing Jefferson
Street Suspended.

Block on that Street-They Say
that the Traffic is Now Too Heavy
for the Street-They Assert that the
Noise Would Be Unbearable If
Blocks Were Put Down-The Paving
of West Broad Street Urged-Coun-
Gil Considers the Suggestion Favor
| ably and Referred the Matter to the
Committee on Streets and Lanes.
At special meeting yesterday after
noon the city council decided to reverse
| its decision TO repave jefferson street
with Belgian block, and to pave West
| Broad street instead.
The matter was referred back to the
committee on streets and lanes for consid-
Grafton, with instructions to confer with
! Venable Bros, of Atlanta, in regard TO
| laying 10000 square yards, more or less,
Of block on West Broad strees
Neuable Bros had been awarded the
contract for paving Jefferson street, and
while the papers have not been drawn up,
it was held that they were entitled to an
| equal amount of work at least on West
| Broad street
TIE PROPERTY OWNERS PROTEST.
! The reason for councils reversing its
decision was the protest Of the property
owners on jefferson street against paving
| the street with blocks. The property
| owners did not wake up to the fact that
| the street was about to be paved with
! blocks until a day or two ago, although
| the council has been advertising for bids
| for the work for two weeks The bids
were opened last Wednesday night and
! referred to the committee OF
| the whole. The committee met
| Thursday afternoon and accepted the bid
! of Npn9 bln RfOg and II co
| in Fridays MORNING News. In Satur-
| days MORNINGbNEws it was announced,
on the authority of Alderman O'Brien
| chairman of the committee on streets and
| lanes, that the work was to be begun at
once, and that the trees along the road
way would be cut away yesterday. Then
| the property owners awoke to the situa-
| ton. They did not let the grass grow I'M
der their feet, either.
PETITION STARTED.
A petition was circulated which was
! almost unanimously signed by the real
| estate owners on jefferson street, protest
| ing against the pavement of the street
with Belgian block. Several reasons
were given for the protest, the chief one
| being that on account of the heavy traffic
| the noise made by vehicles passing over a
! block pavement would be almost unbeara-
BILE, and residence property on that street
| would depreciate in consequence. The
| petitioners urged the paving of some
| other street running north and south, so
as to divide the traffic with jefferson
| street They also protested against cut
| ting away the trees in front of their
| houses.
When the street and lane force began
| the work of cutting away the trees on
| Jefferson street they were met with the
| protest against the work aud threats of
an injunction. A committee which had
/ hoe Cd hv- h..
called upon Mayor McDonough and laid
the case before him, and the mayor at
| once agreed TO call a meeting Of council in
| the afternoon to consider the protest.
THE COUNCIL CALLED TOGETHER.
| The council met in the mayors room at
4 o'clock. The members present were,
Mayor McDonough, Aldermen Dixon,
! Wells, Myers, Screven, O'Brien, Mills,
Harris, Haines, and Folliard. City AT
torney Adams was also present.
The committee representing the prop
erty holders consisted of M. A O'Byrne,
&. H Dorsett, Col. j. H. Estill j. X
Garmany, A. G. Harmon, L. T. Doyle, j.
A. S. Nichols, W. n. Nichols, and c. p.
| Virgins. 1t was an able committee. and
did its work well. Mayor McDonough
| stated the object of the meeting and
asked Mr.. OByrne, who had been chosen
chairman of the property holders COM
mittee to state the grounds of the protest,
GROUNDS OF THE PETITION.
Mr.. O'Byrne said there were numerous
reasons why the present shell pavement
| on jefferson street should not be torn up
and replaced with Belgian block In the
| first place, he said, the present pavement
| represents a large amount of money, and
on this account 1t is better to let the pave
ment remain as 1t now is, and to pave
some other street which would take
away the traffic which now SCOTS Jeffer-
son street as the only available avenue
West Broad street he suggested
as the street which it would be
best to pave for this purpose.
The cost, he said, of laying
Jefferson street with Belgian block would
be $l9.S00. OF this amount the city will
only get back from the property holders
along the street between SO, 600 and 81 900.
as 1t has agreed TO allow the property
owners credit on their assessments for
the amounts previously paid by them for
the shell pavement. He submitted figures
secured from the city engineers of
flee, showing that at the same rate
at which Venable Bros. were to
pave jefferson street, West Broad
street could be paved for less
than 100000
COST TO THE CITY BUT LITTLE MORE.
Mr.. O'Byrne showed that while the ag-
gregate cost of the work of paving West
Broad street would be greater than that
of Jefferson street, the cost to the city
would be very little more. The amount
which would be assessed against the
street railroads for the paving
on West Broad street would be
one-ffth, or about Sl2O 600, Mr. O'Byrne
SAID. This would leave something
less than S4S, 900 as the cost of the re-
mainder of the work. OF this amount
one-third would be assessed against the
property owners on each side of the street
and one-third would be paid by the city.
or only $4,000 as the cost to the city of
paving West Broad street from Stone
street to Henry street. This estimate, Mr..
O'Byrne said, including curbing, sewer
pipe and street and lane intersections. As
this was just about the same amout that il
would cost the city TO pave jefferson
street with shells, Mr. O'Byrne said that
II seemed much more preferable to him
that West Broad street should be paved
and then the city would have two paved
streets in that section of the city instead
of one whereas if jefferson street were
repaved, the city would still have only
one paved street running north and south
in the western part Of the city.
WILL DIVERT THE TRAFFIC.
BY paving West Broad street, Mr.
! O'Byrne said. the greater portion of the