The San Francisco call., 1896-05-31
FAVOR|NG PUBLIC
IMPROVEMENTS,
Leading Property Owners
Wish to Bond the City
for Such Purposes.
SUGGESTIONS ON PAVING
A Feasible Plan Offered for the
Repaving of Market Street in
an Acceptable Manner.
BITUMEN LARGELY WANTED.
Foundations Should Be Laid With
Care-Brue Trap Rock for
MacadamiziDg.
BITUMEN LARGELY WANTED

The request made by the Superinten
dent of Streets for the amount desired by
him for the next fiscal year with which to
maintain his office has led to a vast
amount of talk in the City, resuscitating
the question of bonding the City and re.
viving many of the topics which led to the
desire for new charter on the part OF q
large number of the taxpayers of San
| Francisco, who are favorable to the
| project of improving the streets and public
parks. For potent reasons many look for
ward to the time when a board of public
works will be created under a new char ter
and the City bonded in such a manner
that the payments will not be either bur-
densome or cumbersome to the property
owners.
A representative of THE CALL endeav-
ored to obtain the consensus of opinion
regarding the repaving of accepted streets,
and strange to say those of the contractors
OF the City who might appear to view the
sub iect from a selfish standpoint CORE
spond with those of a majority of the tax
payers that were seen. Public opinion
was found to favor the i'm mprovement of all
accepted streets where improvements are
needed, particularly on Market street
be extremely obnoxious as they now exist
there.
There is, however, no definite idea as to
what is most desirable for a pavement for
that thoroughfare. A large mum per favor
the bituminous rock, while others fear
that 1t is not sufficiently strong 10 stand
the wear and tear of the heavy traffic to
which the street is subjected. For that
reason the theory is advanced that a COM
binauon of small basalt blocks, asphalt
and bltumen, laid with care, would meet
all OF the requirements ana prove durable
and inexpensive. Again, it is contended
that oltuminous rock should not be laid
where there are streetcar tracks, while il
is generally conceded that such a pave
ment is the most elastic and if properly
laid where there is not too much heavy
trucking it will meet every requirement.
that Is demanded of it.
1t is easily kept clean, does not accum-
ulate much dust aud dirt, acfactor very
much desired here, owing 10 the high
winds, and which, again, requires very
little sDrinkling if the street-sweeping is
properly done. Too much sprinkIing. it
is sald, renders the streets where bitumen
Is USED extremely slippery. and it is,
furthermore, disastrous in hot weather
To sum up the entire matter, the opinion
is general among taxpayers and property
holders that the streets and boulevards
should be improved and such methods
adopted and paving done as will meet
with the necessities and demands of the
individual streets themselves and the
Localities In which they are situated.
An antipathy seems to be prevalent
against the use OF red rock in either
macadam or bitumen. One prominent
taxpayer, when seen on this subject.
said: when a committee of the Board OF
Supervisors visited Oakland and Alameda
for the purpose OF determining wnat is
most desirable for San Francisco as re-
cards the rock which shall form the foun-
dation of the future pavements of s IN
Francisco they found in those two cities
the hardest and most even streets that
could be found In the State. The reason
that was given for this condition of affairs
was that blue rock was used exclusively in
| accordance with their ordinances"
Article l. All macadamiZing shall be done
| only with hard rock of igneous Character
known as hard blue trap rock, or hard gray
| trap rock, or basalt rock, and shall be such
| rock only as shall come within the reouire-
ments of either first-class rock or second-class
rock, the requirements of which classes are as
/ follows to-wit:
/ character and formation. trap or basalt of ir-
! regular cleavage, and such as shall not lose
by erosion and fracture, upon testing same in
the "rattler" belonging to the city of Oak
| land Tor purposes of testing rock revolving AZ
! the rate of not less than tweuty-eight revolu-
tions per minute for three hours, more than
Second-class rock shall be trap or basalt
| rock, such as shall not lose by erosion and
| fracture upon testing the same in the said
rattler, revolving at the rate of not less
| than twenty-eight revolutions per minute for
three hours, more than % per cent of its orig
| inal weight.
1.-The committee then concluded to adopt
| the rattler test and purchased a testing
machine, which is the invention of Pro-
| lessor lie Conte OF the University of Cali.
fornia, making the requirement for this
City only equal to that of the second-class
| rock that is used across the bay. This
| rock can be loaded in San Francisco at
| cost OF about 80 cents yard, which is
about half the cost of that used In the
cities that L named, and only about one
! quarter OF cent more than red rock
which is soft, and after LAYING on the
streets for short time creates dust that
| Is almost lntolerable where macadam 10
used, to say nothing of the mud that IL
| creates during the winter season. This
Tock does not even come in pure state. as
tne quarries IN which 1t is found are inter
| stratad with clay, all of which becomes
mixed together in the blasting and makes
avery undesirable com mbiBa ton, while the
olue-rock quarries yield rock that is hard
/ ana weighs ten pounds heavier tn the
| square foot than granite.
AT the time OF the opening of the Mid
winter falr 1t was feared that that event
| ~ MA W Oh1IiS 10 the neaVT mud
In the roadways that had been macadam-
lzed with red rock. The committee in
charge finally for the purpose OF faciIitat-
ing matters ordered them covered with
SIX inches of blue rock, with the result
that nowhere in the world can a better
driveway be found to-day than that which
was around the grand court of the Mid
winter Fair.
san Francisco is especially fortunate in
having this formation of rock at Its very
doors. This can better be Appreciated
when 1T Is a known fact among engineers
that the State Legislature of Massachu-
setts appropriated a large sum of money
to be used in securing any trap rock for
nation that could be found in the State of
Massachusetts,, so that it could be shipped
to dlfferent parts of the State and used as
dressing over softer rock which is the
only material they have as yet been able
TO ind for roads and street work and
which is very unsatisfactory.
1.-The streets of San Francisco should be
improved, but care should be taken that
whatsoever may be decided upon, the
foundation should be properly laid"
flynn IL Treacy, the contractors, be-
lieve that THESE Improvements should be