The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-27
SIDEWALKS MUST BE rENDED.
Notices Being Served on Property
Owners by the city MARSHAL


Owners by the city Marshal.
City Marshal Power and Deputy Mar
shall Kelly are very busy just now, look
ing up broken sidewalks and notifying the
owners to put them in repair at once.
Mayor Myers gave instructions to the
I city marshal early last week to devote his
attention 70 the sidewalks. The result is
that the marshal and his deputy have
found more sidewalks in need Of repair
than they could well attend to at one
/ time.
The long dry spell has had a very bad
effect on the sidewalks. A great deal Of
the sidewalk paving was laid years ago,
and the bricks are now worn thin. The
long drought has dried all the moisture
out Of them, and when one Of the thin
bricks receives a square blow from the
heel OF heavy shoe it pops in two. Some
body else comes along and kicks the pieces
out OF the Way.s When one brick has been
broken the others are easily broken up
around 1t, and the result is that in two
or three days anywhere from four or five
TO dozen bricks have been broken up,
and kicked cut of the way and there is an
ugly hole in the pavement, which is not
only unsightly but dangerous TO pedes-
TRANS.
The wonder is that with so many broken
pavements no accidents Of this kind have
been reported, The result would of course
be suit against the city for damages.
The sidewalks are probably in worse
condition now than at any time in the
last several years, due partly, as has been
explained, to the old payements and the
long drought. One reason for the numer-
Gus holes which disdgure the pavements
is the hardness Of the property owners in
making repairs. City Marshal Power was
asked yesterday how it is that the pave
ments are allowed to 80 so long without
| repairs being made when needed. He ex-
piained that this is due TO the present or
dinances on the subject. The ordinances
make it the business of the city marshal
to look after the condition of the side
walks. A break may exist for weeks with
out coming TO the knowledge of the mar
shal When he discovers IL the ordinance
provides that he shall notify the property
owner or his agent TO make the necessary
repairs. Time is frequently lost in lOcat-
ing the owner The ordinance then gives
the owner ten days after he has been
served with notice in which to make re-
pairs. The marshal must then make an
other visit OF inspection and If the walk is
stu unrepaired he is required to make a
report OF the matter to the next meeting
of council, which may be two weeks off.
When the council receives such a report
the usual course is to turn the matter
over to the street and lane department
with instructions to make the necessary
repairs at the expense Of the property
With such a round to go through
said Mr.. Power you can see very we'll
how it is that the breaks in the side
walks are allowed to go so long unre-
paired. By the time l have found the
owner and given him ten days notice and
he pays no attention to it, it may be
ten days more, perhaps, before there is
a meeting OF council when action can
be taken on the matter. The sidewalk is
left all that time to break up and go 20
pieces. The property owners are very neg
hSent on the subject. If they would at
tend to the breaks as soon as they APP
pear instead of waiting a week or a month,
three or four bricks would be sufficient
to mend the break, but the longer they
wait the more the bricks break up and
the more it costs the property owner to
make the repairs when he does do it. I am
in hopes that council will make some
change in the ordinance by which the
work can be dispatched more rapidly. As
il is now 1t is very unsatisfactory bust
ness. The city 5ught to have man en-
ployed to do nothing but look after re-
pairs to the sidewalks. In Charleston
there is a man employed to do this. He
goes out every day with his wagon of
brick, going up one street and down an
other, and wherever he finds a hole in
the pavement he mends It, If 1t is only
one brick. He makes note of the 10
cation Of every break he mends and re-
ports to some higher authority. l do not
know whether the city makes any charge
for the work.
The ordinance might at least be chang
ed so that all repairs should be done by
the city. In cases now where the city
does the work the property owners are
only charged for the actual cost of the
material and time spent in making the
repairs. By actual comparison of bills
have proven that it costs the property
owner when the city does the work
about half what 1t does when he has it
done by private parties. Many property
owners have found this out, and when l
notify them that their pavements are in
need of repairs simply tell me to go ahead
and have the work done. Another advant-
age that there would be in this would
be that the same class of material would
be used on ali the walks. There is a
great deal of soft brick used now which
wear out rapidly and make very poor
walks"
Mayor Myers, when spoken to on the
subject yesterday, said that he had given
the question of sidewalk repairs some at
tention and intended to bring it before
council soon, when other more important
matters have been disposed of, in order
that the ordinances may be changed or
modified with a view to obtaining better
results.