Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-07
STREET NEEDS.
Plans Offered for Relieving Con.
gested Business Centres,
A Valuable, Interesting and Instructive
Paper Before the Board of Trade by
Thomas j. Sawyer of This City.


ness centres by widening the streets and
laying out new ones. Mr.. Sawyer's idea
is that Worcester should have a plan
that will supply the needs for all future
time, and that the changes should be
made from that plan from time to time.
He argues that the work should not be
done in patchwork, or incomplete in
stallments. as In the past.
AT the close of his remarks the mat
ter was referred to the board of direct
ors, with favorable comment, and ae-
ton may be taken to further the plans
suggested and bring them before the
city government in proper form.
Mr. Sawyer's plan for running a par
allel street to Main from Mechanic street
across the common and so on to Beacon
street, was most favorably received.
There was some questioning of his plan
of running a new street between Pleas
and Chatham streets as far over as
Hawley to relieve Pleasant street. This
street would remove the Taylor prop
erty on the corner of Main and Pleas
ant, and would then run over the hill
an average distance of 140 feet from
Pleasant 1t would be so feet wide and
would hold the present car tracks.
Mr.. Sawyer had a large number of
plans which he exhibited and explained.
His paper was as follows:
Much dissatisfaction is felt today with
the congested state of Worcester's prin-
cipal streets and thoroughfares With
out intending reproach to those formerly
in authority, 1t is a manifest truth that
propositions for street improvements Of
any considerable magnitude or cost do
not receive as favorable treatment from
our city councils as their merits entitle
them to- Calls are becoming more nu-
merous and urgent every year, yet SO
many improvements petitioned for and
refused in previous years are still de-
manded on the score of public necessity
and convenience, that late administra-
tions have been restrained thereby from
acting favorably towards newer pro-
jeets. Prior claims of the others stand
in the way and ever tend to make help
less the most progressive boards of gov
eminent.
More than 20 years have elapsed since
the proposition for laying out new
street on the railroad site between Front
and Foster streets was before the city
government. TT ought to have been
done" is the unanimous sentiment OF
every one today; and failure so to do
has cost the members of that govern
ment their reputation for wisdom and
foresight The next important PROPOSE
ton to receive like treatment was that
for the widening of Church street and
making more direct connection of IT
with Union street. This was about l9
wears. ago. Case No. 3 was the proposed
widening ard Strengthening of Union
street. This was soon followed by the
call for widening of Southbridge street
as far south as the railroad crossing.
No. was the proposition for construct
ing a new street from Park street on the
railroad site to connect with Beacon
street at its junction with Southbridge
street. This was in 1887 The last one
to share the fate melted out to those
above mentioned, fully as important as
any. was the widening of Shrewsbury
street.
In theintervals noted above many works
of minor Importance have been put
through. mostly those which recovered
in betterrnent assessments a goodly part
of the monies appropriated for their
working, but the treatment of petitions
for greater improvements has been not
able more for being of an impartial
nature rather than responsive one.
All meet defeat on the score of too
great cost
The demand exists today for those
above mentioned more urgently than at
the time they were first agitated, and
failure to act at that time has probably
multiplied the total average cost of the
work (omitting Shrewsbury street, at
least threefold and not only deprived
the city of their use, but has made it
impossible to consider other and Ike
Improvements fully as numerous and
important.
The question comes, why so many de-
mands Of this kind? Why are the prin-
opal thoroughfares of Worcester un-
fitted for it's wants today, to say moth
ing of the future? My answer is be-
cause of the extended use that is made
of them for, street car service, together
with the changed condition that has
come from substituting electricity for
horses as a motive power This change,
figuratively speaking, has put brake
on every other vehicle in use on our
streets.
When horses propelled street cars, the
centre of our streets was used much in
common and drivers Of other vehicles
were not subject to danger, delay or in
convenience; while today the suggestion
is not considered unreasonable by some
that car tracks could be fenced off, and
conditions be nearly, if not quite, as
favorable for teaming. Nor any more
unreasonable the suggestion that if
such streets were reduced between
curbs to a width no greater than the
area of the two sections now awaited of,
without car tracks, they would be safer
and better fitted for local and through
travel.
The two sections Of Main street south
of Franklin square would under such
conditions measure about "a feet, which
is about three feet less than our small
est public streets. While Southbridge,
Pleasant, Millbury and Shrewsbury
streets would be about II feet. This
shows that one-third to one-half of the
original capacity Of streets has been
sacrificed for surface railroads. The
last four streets mentioned do not admit
of a bicycle rider passing between a
moving team and car.
The change from old methods to new;
from a shallow form of rail to one of
deeper tread from !. single track sys-
tenn to that of double track so general
now, and from a speed of three or four
miles per hour to one of 10 to Is miles
has come about so gradually that this
cause for our many congested streets
has not been suspected, many believing
our city has outgrown them. But my
belief is that our streets, SO far as laid
out, would be in nearly all case of ample
capacity for business done over them
if car tracks were removed But we
cannot dispense with street car service,
nor with rapid transit. nor think of
substituting subways or overhead sys-
TENS for the surface roads. Therefore,
our efforts should be directed to pre-
serving the greater and more desirable
conveniences of the present system, by
securing ourselves immunity from the
evil effects now incident to it.
To do this would require that our
system of streets be 50 increased in ca
pacity by widening of old and formation
of new ones that all classes and all in
terests which make use of them shall
be amply provided for. Probably no
city in this country the size of Worces-
ter would suffer the same Ill effects
from granting railway franchises over
a like number Of miles Of streets. We