The San Francisco call., 1895-05-19
WHEELMEN'S GRIEVANCES,
TackS and Broken Glass Being
Thrown on the Pave
mentS.
Street Sprinkling at Inconvenient
Hours Strongly OBJ
Jected To.

For some time past the bicycle men of
the City have been working themselves up
over some circumstances, slight in them
selves but so persistently present that they
have become a positive grievance. and
steps are to be taken by the associated
clubs and by the local division of the
League of American Wheelmen to have
them remedied.
The first of these is the throwing of
broken glass and tacks upon the streets
for the purpose of puncturing pneumatic
tires, and the other is the watering of the
cable slots in order to prevent wheelmen
from riding upon them.
The throwing of broken glass upon the
pavement is trick confined mostly to the
street gamin of the Mission. 1t has be-
come quite practice, as the experience of
the owner OF many a collapsed tire can
tell, and there is no longer any doubt in
the minds of the wheelmen that the glass
is put there for their discomfort.
There is an ordinance which requires
property-ownerS to keep the streets in
front of their property clear of all OBJ
structions, but there is no penalty for dis
obedience of this law, and consequently it
is dead letter. The wheelmen, through
their executive bodies, have decided to do
something to have this ordinance enforced
and to have penalty provided for its vio-
lation.
As to the other grievance, that of water
ing the streets at most inopportune times,
the wheelmen are going to have that
remedied also. They think that it is
something more than coincidence that
Market street is watered about o'clock in
the morning, leaving the pavement muddy
and slippery and most unpleasant for any
wheelman who wants to ride downtown TO
his work. Again just before noon the
street is watered Just in time to make it
uncomfortable for the MONDAY wheelmen,
and once again at o'clock in the evening,
or after, the street is again muddied, the
wheelmen say, especially for their benefit.
With the main street in this condition,
the wheelmen prefer to ride upon the cars,
result which the cyclist thinks accounts
for the system which the railroad adopts
in watering its tracks. AS for riding upon
the slot after the sprinkler has gone over
it, there is absolute danger, for the wheels
slip from the metal, and broken bicycles
and broken bones are the result. To pre-
vent this inconvenience, the wheelmen
will endeavor to have passed an ordinance
prohibiting the watering of the streets be-
fore in the morning, after IL until 3 and
after o'clock in the evening.
In Denver the same question arose, and
the Denver division of the League of
American Wheelmen had just such an or
dinance passed as the local wheelmen will
try to have passed here. In Denver the
streets are watered in the middle of the
forenoon and in the middle of the after
noon, SO when wheelmen are passing
to or from work they have dry pavements
to ride over. Both these questions are
now under consideration by the local di-
vision of the League of American Wheel
men. The police have already expressed a
willingness to assist in preventing the
throwing Of glass upon the pavements. and
the Supervisors and the Merchants Asso-
citation will be asked to assist in regulating
the street sprinkling.