The San Francisco call., 1896-04-23
An Ordinance Which Provides
for Removal of the Bad
Pavement.
NEGLECTED BY AUTHORITIES.
Streetcar Companies Must Obey the
Street Superintendent's Order.
A Test Proposed.

The attention of the Merchants Associa.
ton has been called to City ordinance
which provides for improving and keeping
in repair the streets between railway
tracks. If enforced this law would cause
Francisco to be completely transformed.
Fully so per cent of the barbarous cobble
pavements would disappear.
The importance Of the ordinance has i'm
pressed itself upon the officers of the asso-
citation, who have given it some considera-
ton, and intend to go deeper into the
question.
Some of them are not quite clear on the
Interpretation of the law, but they say
test case should be made, If for nothing
more than to determine the power of the
municipality to compel the street railroad
companies to keep streets between their
tracks in proper condition.
The ordinance has all the appearance of
having been long forgotten and brought
to light after lapse OF years. Through
many of these years it was an open secret
that certain streetcar companies par
ticuarly interested in cobbles held pc
culiar influence over the authorities whose
duty it was to attend to street matters.
AT the present time, however, when
popular sentiment is strong against the
antiquated pavement this old ordinance
appears. The Merchants Association,
which has ia ken upon itself the general
improvement of the streets, will therefore
have good opportunity of stirring up the
right people.
The interesting ordinance gives the Su-
perintendent of Streets the same power as
he exercises over sidewalks in which only
private parties are concerned. If he wishes
he can compel streetcar com panies to i'm
prove or repave between their tracks-a
power he has neglected to exercise. Here
is the ordinance in full:
RAILROAD corporations to improve and re-
pair the roadway between their tracks, on
notice from superintendent of Streets1
Section 5. The Superintendent of Public
Streets, Highways and Squares is hereby en-
powered at his option, by serving notice upon
any railroad corporation or company having q
railroad franchise to operate railroad upon
any of the streets OF the City and County of
san Francisco, to require said railroad corpora
ton or company TO grade or regrade to the
official grade, plank or replank, pave or re-
pave, maeadamize or re1acadamize, or to re-
pair that portion OF the roadway OF any street
OF tnls CITY ana County over which the fran
chise of said railroad corporation or company
empowers them to lay down their tracks and
operate their road. for the space occupied or
TO be occupied by and between the rails of said
track or tracks.
Between said tracks, should there be more
than one laid or to be laid and for distance
OF two feet on either side of said track or
tracks if laid, and on either side of the space
to be occupied by said track or tracks if yet to
be laid, any railroad corporation or com.
pany SO notified SHALL within ten DAYS from
and after the service of said notice by said Su-
perlntendent, cause to be commenced such
grading or regarding to the official grade
planking or replanking, paving or repaving
laacadamizing or remacadamizing or re-
notice OF said Superintendent, and shall
continuously prosecute such work and i'm
proyement to It's completion within such Pc
riod OF time as shall have been designated bv
the said Superin tendent in his said notice:
provided that the said Superintendent shall in
all cases require in said notice that the work
and repairs to be executed by said railroad
corporation or company shall be of such char
acter as will make the space on the roadway Of
said street or streets which said railroad cor.
poratlon or company are required to improve
to coniorm to the nature of the improvement
contiguous thereto on the said streets or por-
hon OF streets, whether grading or regarding,
planklng or replanking paving or repaying
macadamizing or relnacadamizing
The Market-street Railway Company
pretends that this ordinance is not in
tended to apply to streets already accepted
by the City, although it speaks of "regrad-
ing, replanking, repaving and remacad-
amlZlng. This has been construed to
mean that the streetcar corporations must
repair between their tracks. Where streets
are paved after many years with bitumen
or basalt blocks the presumption is that
the cobbles have outlived their usefulness
as paving material on those thoroughfares.
In such cases removing cobbles and repav-
ing them with modern pavement is re-
garded as repairs" and for that reason