The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-17
WESTERN
BOULEVARD
Freebooter Riordan's Strong
Appeal For a Link To
Bind the County.
PLENTY OF LAW FOR IT
Expense Insignificant in Com
parison With the Gain
In Property Values.

Freebooter Riordan has taken occasion
to express his views very positively on
the feasibility and ACCESSIBILITY of proceed
ing without delay with the construction
of the proposed western boulevard, which
is intended to bring Harrison, Kearny,
East Newark and all West Hoboken m
closer touch with this city. County Col
lector Hugh Dugan made a statement a
few days ago that the prosposed road
could not be built without additional leg
islation and he also expressed opposition
to it on the ground of the cost.
"Mr. Dugan," said Mr.. Riordan, seems
to have a weakness for taking a pessi-
mistic view of matters pertaining to the
western section of the county He was
very positive a few years ago that the
Fourth street bridge over the Passaic
River could not be built, yet the bridge is
there, a lasting monument to the people
who took an optimistic view of the matter
at that time. l have every reason to
believe that Mr.. Dugan will eventually
find himself on the wrong side of this
western boulevard extension. His reasons,
If they can be called reasons, why the ex-
tension should not be built at this time,
can be disposed Of in very short order.
In the first place he says that the road
cannot be built under the act authorizing
the construction of the main boulevard
and the Weehawken loop. Our counsel
on boulevard matters, former Judge
Thomas F. Noonan differs with him on
that point. He says that we have the
right to proceed under that act. Further
my recollection is that Mr.. John Griffin,
counsel to the Board has given an opinion
that it is not necessary for the Board to
place a specified sum in the tax budget
for the preliminary expenses. He says
that the preliminary expenses can be pro-
vided for by an issue of certificates of
Indebtedness payable out of the next
years appropriation. This method, I un-
derstand, is specifically provided for in
the act authorizing the construction of
the boulevard.
"Mr. Dugan's second objection is that
the entire cost of the road would lave
to be inserted in one years tax levy, when
the fact is that bonds would be issued
and the amount of interest on then, which
would go into the tax levy would scarcely
be felt by Jersey City or any other mu-
nicipality in the county. 1t would add
certainly not more than 5000 0 to the tax
levy, and in three or four years that
amount would be returned to the county
treasury through the increased value of
the property along the line of the road.
The county's experience with the roads
which nave been built is that they have
proved profitable and fully warrant the
expenditure by reason of the increase in
property valuations. There is no reason
why the proposed road should be an ex-
ception.
CAS- to the opposition of the Twelfth
Ward Improvement Association, 1 would
say hat their proposition for a more
northerly eastern erminus of the road has
been considered by the engineers and
found unavailable. The route they sug-
gest would bring the terminus to the old
Belleville road, the dividing line between
Hudson and Bergen counties. Is that
section of Hudson is sparsely settled,
having the terminus there would be of
greater benefit to Bergen county, which
would share no part of the expense, and
besides residents of Harrison and East
Newark would have to travel several
miles to reach the road. Another and
very serious objection to that route, which
does not exist in the more s~outherly route
selected by the Chief Engineer, is the
numerous railroad grade crossings both
in Jersey City and on the Kearny mea-
dows. There are the Northern Railroad,
the main lines of the Erie and the Boon
ton branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western with their numerous freight
tracks and sidings, all crossing the Coun-
ty road leading to Snake Hill, which is
proposed to be utilized in the newly sug-
gested route On the route over the
Kearny meadows the tracks of the Nor
ris and Essex division of the D., l.. & w.
and the Newark, Paterson and Midland
branch of the Erie road would have to be
crossed. Where this route would inter-
sect the main road the grade of Manhat-
tan avenue is very steep and would not
hold the macadam pavement.
"lf it were not for these objections, and
if the proposed route could be carried
over the meadows to the point at Hamil-
ton avenue, Harrison, where the route
proposed by the engineer will strike, I
would favor the more northerly plan. At
present tha plan seems to me to be
arranged for the benefit of the Arlington
Cemetery people and not for the people
of West Hudson.
UNLESS something occurs that / do not
now anticipate I will, at the meeting of
thC oodiu IL MdiSh {, hofS ho
adoption of the route selected and for adj
vertising for bids for the work. The bids
can be received at the April meeting and
the work begun in seasonable time to be
completed before the winter. Several
Jersey City members who have been OPP
posed to the project or Indifferent about
It now favor of it and several rave given
pledges to their constituents to support
it. The entire press of the county is in
favor of it and it is generally admitted
that the scheme is not only feasible and
fair to the people of our section of the
county but the road will pay for itself
taken for the road will cost less than
$15, 5000"