The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-08-18
DISGRACE TO THE COUNTY
Deplorable Condition Of the
Famous Hudson
Boulevard.
FREEHOLDERS ARE TO BLAME
The Big Road is a Constant
Menace to the Safety of
Wheelrnen and Women.

A bicycle rider who tries other roads in
this State for a few days will return to
this city firmly convinced that the once
popular Boulevard lis going to the dogs.
This fact is a disgrace after the enor-
nous amount of money that has been
expended on that t~horougafare. The
money that has been spent on that road,
if put to proper use. experts Ia would
llave been enough to maintain two such
driveways and keep them in proper con-
dition.
The Boulevard in this county, practical
" the MY place where cyclists can get
any enjoyment, is at present in such poor
shape that fully one-haif the number Of
wheelmen tina use to patronize it have
deserted it.
For example, last night. which was an
ideal one for such a pastime. saw the
Boulevard very nearly deserted by wheel
men. In the afternoon. too, there were
few riders out when a reporter of The
News rode over the entire Boulevard.
A person having such an experience
does not wonder that the road has lost
its popularity or tina it is spsringly pa
tronized. The Bayonne end Of the road
is the better Of the two, and this is "
ing little. The two well beaten paths
near the gutter on each side Of the road
are the only places where a wheelman
may go with any degree of safety These
paths are about three feet wide. In many
places, for instance. at street corners, the
rush of water from these side streets
has wrought awful havoc to the road
Not only is the top dressing washed away
but the bedrock is exposed III many
places. It would take columns of space
to set forth these places. so numerous are
they. Probably the worst spot in Bay
onne is that under the Lehigh Valley
Railroad Bridge. Here It is so dark that
a ride cannot see his hand before him.
and to add to the danger, the road is all
ways soft and very wet. In some places
there are many large stones exposed by
the rush of water which flows down hill
at that point,
AZ rider, a young Bayonne man. had his
neck broken at this point last fan, owing
to the fork of HIS wheel breaking. The
rider was killed. The rough road was the
cause. There is a fair stretch Of roadway
between Fifty-frst and Thirtieth streets,
Bayonne, possibly the best portion of the
Boulevard. The bridge which spans the
Central Railroad near Bergen Point is a
most unpleasant spot for a wheelman. A
rider leaving the bridge has to ride in a
depression some four or Ave inches deep.
These heavy iolts are Injurious to a
wheel, oftentimes causing serious breaks.
In Greenville the cycling fraternity
finds small comfort in riding over that
portion of the Boulevard. From the
Canal Bridge to Communipaw avenue the
j. - 80 r7s1- 49, .-----
dangerous spots in that section, especial
" where TIE dirt has accumulated in lit
tie heaps. 1t is rather hard for a cyclist
to ride through this dirt and sometimes
an accident is the result. Top dressing
is to be seen scattered in the cutters,
while hundreds Of bare spots could be
fixed If the smallest possible attention
was paid to the care of the road A dead
ly spot is tina at C-omtnunipaw avenue.
Many accidents have occurred there, but
it is doubtful IL attention will be paid
to it until there is a loss of life.
Bridgestone c~rosswalks We're laid when
the road was built by the Traction Com
pany and cyclists could pass that spot in
safety over very smooth roadway A
sewer was built on -Communipaw avenue
last fall. and, like all such Jobs, the re-
suit was tina the street was never prop
erly repaved. The large stones were
thrown in rather h laid, leaving larger
holes. Each Of the bridgestones has a
grade of its own, and one can imagine
the rough riding a cyclist has.
The north end Of the road. or that por-
ton from West Newark avenue to its ter
mination at Gutenberg. is very seldom
the scene of much riding The whole Sec
tion closely resembles a huge nutmeg
Crater and without the slightest exag-
g~eration q smooth pathway upon which
to ride with comfort cannot be found.
Very rough is the Dad Top dressing is
to be seen piled high In places along the
cutters, but bad spots always are ne
elected. The centre Of the road. where
riders were forced to lake because of the
roughness of the other portion, is now
composed of mud and stones. When
dried up the dirt is very deep. so riding
is out of the question. There is no doubt
but that thousands Of dollars will have
to be spent in order to put the road in
any sort of condition for riding, but many
fear hat this will never be lone as long
as the present Board of Freeholders has
charge. Some relief is looked for when
the new Boulevard Commission takes