The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-02
LOOKING BACKWARD, THEN
FORWARD.

To the Editor of the Spy: Where, obi
where are those good roads advocates
who, only a short year since, cate
chised all aspirants for municipal hon
ors on that question:? Echo answers,
Where? - III
Having occasion to travel over
Shrewsbury street several times q tiay
for the past several weeks, I feel pretty
well qualified to express an opinion on
Its condition and the uses to which it
is put ''cruriiFs Tsif
Looking back to the olden time, when
1t was used for travel and traffic, 1t
was of ample width for all who had
occasion to use it, and, after the, lake
opened up as pleasure resort, attract
ing large numbers of people, a way
was opened to transfer them back and
forth quickly, and at small expense
py building the dummy road and With
out obstructing any of our streets. But
the Consolidated Company thought it
would be nice to share In gathering in
the dimes, so they fastened to put in
a plea for franchise to help gather In
the spoils. and grew. rich enough in
short time to gather the other road
and all in, beside getting Shrewsbury
street from the square to the top of
the hill as far as the double track runs
in the street for less than mess Of
pottage. asaaar1 gsha4laR 0T7f
What a generous city council that
thus leaving the rest Of us to get out
to the lake as best we can. either by
driving around Bloomingdale road, or
up over Belmont street hill which many
do rather than risk life and limb trying
to get through Shrewsbury street. the
most direct of all routes. aM
AS we are heavily loaded, we will in
yite one of our good roads friends to
ride cut with us, that he may get more
light, or as an object lesson for fu-
ture action on this subject. Starting
from he square, we cross over the
steam railroad track under the gates
aJar, but those gates are hardly closed
behind us before it is quite time TO
look forward, for right here trouble be-
gins. 1t is in the afternoon and the
electric cars are all about the street,
going and coming all the time, and by
law or custom or both, we turn to the
right side OF the street and let others
take the left. But here we are con-
fronted by the rusty dummy road
rails. evidently left to consume them
selves in time Not being able to get
out of the way on that side of the
street, we drive across the rails and
try for Obs nee to get out of the way
by driving up the left of the tracks,
only to find teams backed up to the
stores and places Of business, not leav-
Ing room for travel between them and
the rails So we drive up the track,
only to meet an incoming car, and
must cross back again, having ad-
vanced towards the lake but a very
few rods, and so the crossing and re-
crossing goee on all the way up to the
single track, as there are but few
places where one can drive into the
gutter far enough to let the cars pass
in safety.
Now looking forward, we ask what is
the remedy for all this confusion and
clashing of interests? 1t looks to me
as though there were two possible
ways out OF the trap our fathers led
US into; the first and best, in my judg-
ment is 70 allow the Consolidated
Company to remove their tracks out
of the roadbed to the gutter where the
Suburban roads put theirs, and then
continue their loop track over the
dummy track to the end of Shrews-
bury street, which they should have
done when they acquired that road,
and been given the right to put only
single track in Shrewsbury street.
But we are looking forward now, and
hope for better things for all parties
in interest, and this plan would give
sufficient roadway for all the traffic
that would naturally go that way.
The other an6 more expensive way
would be to make the street a hundred
feet wide, each party paying half the
cost, which in justice they should do
in this case, as it is a valuable fran
chise. Where a street is not wide
enough to contain two tracks and a
road-bed of sufficient width for the
present and probable future traffic,
like this street and Pleasant and
Southbridge street and many others
that might be named, there should not
be a double track allowed unless the
party wishing to occupy the streets is
willing to pay their share towards
making them wide enough for two
tracks. This is the prayer Of our pc
tition, for which we will ever pray, I'M
til relief comes. Addison Palmer