The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-07-28
YORK STREET ASPHALT.
Horrible Condition In Which
the Heavy Trucking Has
Left the Newly Laid
Pavement.


York street, from Henderson to Hudson
street. which was asphalted last fall is
rapidly being cut into a wretched con-
dition by the heavy trucks which pass
back and forth over 1t each day. This
street vas originally Intended as an access
to and from the Boulevard for bicycles and
light pleasure vehicles. but it is almost
totally monopolized by the heavy trucks,
especially those which come from New
ark. Formerly Grand street was used as
a thoroughfare by these trucks, but since
York street has become a~sphalted, Grand
street has been abandoned. Some of these
trucks carry as much as five or six tons,
and the load together with the wagon
often make a combined feight of eight
tons.
They ave so worn the asphalt about
four feet on each side of the car track,
that it forms a little gully about an inch
deep and when it rains these gullies be-
come filled with water forming little
pools. In warm weather especially does
the heavy traffic tell on the asphalt
causing it to spread. The rucks in com
ing to York street, generally turn in at
Henderson street from Grand street in
going to the New York ferries and coming
back turn out at Henderson into Grand
street. A bicycle rider, after turning out
of Henderson street into York street, is
not out of danger for one minute until
he leaves York street.
The constant stream of trucks which
passes back and forth allday long, make
it almost impossible for cyclists to ride
there. They are kept busy lodging both
right and left, in and out between
wagons to eiable them to pass. There
was a time when cyclists could ride be-
TWEEN the car tracks to escape colliding
with the trucks, but now the patent
bricks which the traction company
has.had laid are so cut up and sunken by
these heavy trucks that it is impossible
to ride there any longer. In some places
the bricks in between the car tracks are
sunken as much as four inches and 1t
is as much as a wheelman's life is worth
to ride over the tracks now. 1t is moth
ing new to see wheelmen fall off their
wheels in attempting to cross these tracks
which protrude sometimes two inches
above the street level.
Possibly the worst place on all York
street is at Washington, where there are
any number of tracks which a cyclist has
to pass over. It this point the street is
not asphalted and the paving is in a
deplorable condition. Most cyclists when
approaching this crossing dismount and
walk to the other side to avoid the stones
and tracks. At the southern corner Of
York and Washington streets there is a
hole almost a half foot deep, caused by
the heavy trucking. At almost the ex-
IRENE end of York street. rear Hudson,
the asphalt paving on the right side mar
rows down to about four feet. This is
caused by the car tracks having been
shifted from the centre of the street to
the side. AS all cyclists are supposed to
keep to the right of the road, the wheel
men at this point are often forced to he
curb, and sometimes fall from their
bicycles. Here a wheelman has no show
at all. The endless rush of wagons and
vehicles of all sorts and the trolley cars
coming down the street changing their
gongs, are enough to disconcert the most
experienced riders, and it is a miracle
that more accidents of a serious nature do
not occur. The street also is nicely water
ed in the mornings, causing a beautiful
mud to form covering the cyclist from
head to foot.