The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-01-20
COST OF ASPHALT PAVING
VERY LITTLE ABOUT WATER
Distribution of the License Money
on Consistent Pian-ErIe
Track Elevation Deal.

Clerk George 7. Bouton, of the Street
and Water Board, has just completed his
annual report for 1895. It is an interest
ing document going far to show what rap
i'd progress Jersey City is making in
municipalsimprovements. In opening, Mr..
Bouton says
The exceptional demand for improve
| ments and sewers, occasioned by the sim
| piicity of new laws, still exists, and the
| work along the line, which was recorded
plernented to an extent without precedent
| IN the history of the city. The last few
years cannot be but regarded in the future
gress were made. The eye now follows
miles of newly and substantially improv-
ed streets which thread their various
ways over each local division. The re-
claiming of low lands, with consequent
| absence OF stagnant pools, in cases not
isolated but everywhere, evidences sewer
| though hidden from view, have produced
anticipated results.
| Suited viaducts, rising in air. reach out
| city.
Buildings devoted to the education of
youIth-Substantial ! buildings, provided
/ suggest and modern science can offer
stand forth as monuments of progress
Streets. and highways illuminated with
| lights whatever possible add their quota
| TO municipal advancement; and it has
| been advancement along the entire line
with all signs indicating continuance.
Mistakes? Perhaps a few, which would
/ better be classed as errors of judgment.
| but municipalities, like individuals, may
/ rise OF the stepping stones of past errors
and past failures to the accomplishment
| Of greater and better things.
The varied works of the year, as here
| matter specifically set forth, will we
/ trust n0nPt with the s~nner2l 1n50FOf7S fiQn
/ of our citizens. We cannot expect that
/ each piece of work done Will appeal with
many things have been accomplished
which will be hailed with approval every
where within our territorial limits
ASSESSABLE IMPROVEMENTS.
We have during the year had presented
/ for our consideration no less than one
hundred and fifty petitions for assess
! With but few exceptions the petitioners
| sought to take advantage of the new laws
which permit of partial annual payments.
| and which have already resulted in the
| achievement in two years of considerably
more than has been heretofore accomp-
| lished in a dozen. We would urge that
| citizens who seldom wanders from the
| immediate vicinity of his own home, and
| on whose brain is delineated the tope-
graphy of the city of few years ago,
| to saunter over the city of today If he
| desires the welfare of that community OF
| which he is a member, We doubt not that
! he will be both astonished and pleased.
! The list eomprehends the very satis-
/ factory total of 1886 miles of aSSessablo
| improved streets completed during the
| year, an increase over the year previous
OF quite two hundred per cent.
Petitions for the constructions of sewers
! to be paid fer by the properties bene-
| fited, are presented at about every meet
| a street must be first severed before it
is improved, and as growing localities
heaifhfuiness may prevail. We Set the
| seal of our approval on every such petit
| ton whenever we find it possible to do
so. There have been occasional instances
where petitioners have asked for too
much or too little, but we venture to say
that in not one case have we reported
unfavoraby when when request for sewer
| extension was made in accordance with
the plan already established for that To-
our report of last year indicated a record
Heretofore unprecedented, we have, in
the year just passed, rot only equalled,
but exceeded it by a mile.
TION,
The work attendant on street recon
struetion has been continued along the
line and in accord with the policy here
tofore established by us. We have per-
sistently kept at our ancient enemy, tfls
cobblestone, until its appearance in our
streets has gotten to be quite a curl
osity. Our contemplated asphalt Boule-
ward. key has been completed as far as
the lower city Is concerned, and our at
tention can now be directed to other sec
tons.
1He SpfeetS reconstructed. nave DeS1
completed in a first class manner Those
asphalted are laid with a ten year guar
antee. and will. we believe. compare IA
vorabiy with streets of this class else
where. We have exercised a rigid scr1-
tink in its laying. and trust that in
wearing qualities it will exceed, to a
considerable extent, our guarantee.
The mileage OF streets reconstructed
during the year aggregates about 8 1-16
which added to the mileage Of newly i'm
proved streets for which an assessment
has been or will be levied makes the ufa-
precedented total of over fifteen Q5)
miles. as the showing for the year.
A fact also to be considered. is that
each day, when the condition of tie
weather permits, repairs are being maHe
to our paved streets all over the city.
a force of men is constantly maintained
for this purpose, hence. many streets are
dftion, when. if miner repairs had not
been made, an entire reconstruction
would have been. long since required. II
VIII appeal to- the average mind thAS
portant. 1t is yet impossible TO satisfec-
torily comprehend it in an epitoras OF
the work of the year
During the year we were called upon to
recerstrlct the sewer in Garfield aventie.
between the N. & N. Y. r. r. and Clare
mont avenue, a distance of i,5e0 feet. al a
cost of $1,000. which sum was divert I'd
from license moneys fer the purpose. The
condition of this sewer was such as to de-
nand a speedy abatement of the nuisaTce
/ health of those who were compelled to Eve
in close proximity to it, rather than to er-
que to s. conclusion the question OF the
city's liability. The impression yet remains
| with US that at least a portion of the cost
OF this work should have been assess %.
and we do not propose that the doing q
IContinued on Third Paee.l