The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-07-14
THEY WANT THE RED ROCK
The Richmond District People
Protest Against Street
Work.
A Petition to the Board of Super.
visors That Was Not
Authorized.

An enthusiastic meeting of the Rich
mond District improvement Association
took place last Sunday to protest against
the illuminating of Second avenue from
Lake to Point Lobos road, on Lake street,
from First to Third avenues.
The objection is based upon the fact that
there are only few houses on some of
those four blocks. Consequently the side
sewer connections, gas and water pipes
have not been put down. When this is
done, as it will be in course of time, The
bitumen will have to be torn up, resulting
in patched, botched and ragged pavement.
On June a petition for the paving of
these blocks went in to the Street Com
mittee of the Board of Supervisors. 1t is
alleged that there was not a single sigma
ture thereto, and the first the property
owners knew of the matter was notice
of the Street Department. Another objec-
ton of the residents is to the use of the
blue rock and the price they must pay for
it-about So per cubic yard-when there is
a quarry in the district of red rock that
will only cost rs cents per yard. They
estimate that it will cost about $400 a block
more to pave with blue rock than with the
red.
at is all the work of the private con-
tractor" said President Hubbs of the Rich
mond District Association yesterday.
1.-The private contractor has the Street
Department, and, in fact, the whole town
is in his grip. The people who pay for
| i'm provements are only asked to settle the
bills. which appears to be the only consid-
Grafton shown them. We are protesting
! against such work as this, and will fight
| the blue rock monopoly until the new
charter is adopted, and then we will have
some relief
f. T. Newberry, a civil engineer living
at 2O3 Clement street, who assisted in the
| construction of the Sutro electric road,
and who has had much experience in
street and road work, is strongly in favor
| of the red rock.
sThere is no question" said he In an in
terview yesterday, regarding its superb
ority as paving material. It is an
! igneous rock mixed with a natural &C.
ment. As is well known cement may be
| CLAW baked and ground to powder. Now
the volcanic fires that burnt the Rich
mond District red rock baked the clay that
Is mixed with it, so Mother Nature her.
self prepared the material with which We
may pave our streets. The rock when
laid on the ground packs hard, and the
| rock not being porous like the blue one
from Telegraph Hill, is everlasting. This
excellent material costs rs cents yard,
| while it costs $135 to pave every twenty
five-feet front in blue rock which politics
and monopoly are forcing upon US.
"The red rock makes the best concrete
bed for bitumen and can be used without
any. more cement than is naturally there.
| Look at the fine work on Van Ness avenue
where it has been used. I'll tell you the
reason why there has been poor paving
work done. 1t is because of the rottenness
at the New City Hall. When we get the
new charter and the Board of Public
Works shall have appointed the City En-
gineer we will begin to have good streets
George Black, civil engineer of ex
perience in two continents, assisted ii
paving Point Lobcs road years ago, and
his work has stood for years and it is in
good order yet. He put coarse rock below
and the finer above and compact mas
was the result. And it was with the rec