The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-03-15
GRADE CROSSING.
Street and Water Board
Passed the Ordinance
Yesterday.
FOUR MEN OPPOSED
They Urged the Commits
sioners to Delay
Action.

a vote of A to 1, again passed the nrdi-
nance permitting the Greenville and Hud-
son branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroac
to cross Communipaw avenue at grade
Commissioner Heintze's vote was the only
one recorded in the negative.
DR.. Lampson, John Heck, A. A. Camp
bell and Engineer Blair, representing the
Lafayette Citizens Association, appeared
and protested against the passage. Of Ihe
ordinance. They urged that definite ac-
ton be postponed until such time as an
expression of opinion might be obtained
from property owners who are directly IN
terested.
DR.. Lampson said that the people. WING
opposed the ordinance before do not want
to see it go by default now. The doctor
said he did not impugn any mans motive
believing hi each member would vote as
he thought for the best interests OF the
city. He maintained that 1t would pe
wrong to pass the ordinance again. Inc
newspapers he asserted, contain accounts
daily of disasters on grade crossings. he
called attention to the fact that there Is
a similar agitation in New York.
A grade crossings should be abol-
fshed." he declared. They are a menace
to life and limb and cause a wholesale de-
probation Of property valuations. There
is nothing political IN this matter. Ihat
fact has been conclusively proven.
The last two Mayors we have had, each
representing a different political party,
have in turn vetoed IN ordinance such as
is now before your Board. What pushes
this matter is merely the greed OF a glsan-
tic corporation with s4,e0 900 at its back
The Lehigh Valley Railroad now has one
crossing over the avenue, as it owns ore
half of the National Storage Company.
Now it asks for another crossing.
Grade crossings are dangerous, ana
everyone knows it. The assertion enat
the railroad will bring g. large population
of railroad employees may be taken Tor
what it Is worth. For my part l do not
think there will ever be any such result.
The Lafayette Building and Loan Assocla-
ton has about $3.50, 900 invested In properly
In that vicinity, and this proposed cross
ing will depreciate every parcel OF 1T. l
hope the Board will not act hastily put
give the people an opportunity to be
heard"
Mr.. John w. Heck said he was Interest,"
ed in about $4,000 worth of Lafayette
property.
.I want to see the locality benefited, not
damaged he said. "a grade crossing
will be destructive of all interests. The
Morris Canal is now a detriment, ana a
grade crossing will only result in a great
railroad yard, around which will spring
up a lot of novels and rude buildings,
which will be a disgrace to the place.
ssThere should be at least one street
open from the hill to the shore, and l
favor having a health resort and reerea-
ton pier built at the end of C~ommunipaw
avenue, where people may go and get a
breath of pure air. If this grade cross
ing is created the avenue will be taken
from US and the people will be deprived
of it's use. We have no sinister motives
in this matter. We believe the tracks can
be elevated without encountering any
serious engineering difficulties.
What the company claims in regard to
the impossibility of eleyating the tracks
is not the truth. Many who signed q
petition in favor of the crossing did SO
under a misapprehension and many others
were forced by circumstances to sign,
while others at the time did not under
stand its import.
THE building of a bridge over the canal
at Pacific avenue is held up as a club to
brighten the people, and to know a cor
poration can hold up a city in such a
manner is a disgrace. This company says
if you don't give us the crossing you
can't have the bridge. Should the people
be thus bound I would see the company in
Hades first.
Mr. Barnes, a representative of the
company. told me that when the company
got. through with its plans Lafayette
would not be worth living in. More time is
wanted to develop the opposition. The
city has compelled one large trunk line
to elevate its tracks and now to take the
opposite course with another concern will
put the officials in a ridiculous light. l
wish you would all carefully weigh what
two Mayors nave had to say when vetoing
this very movement"
II am in full accord with what has been
said,", remarked Mr.. Campbell. THE
people spoke plainly their feelings in this
matter when they defeated Mr.. Zum-
busch for Freebooter. He favored the
grade crossing. Mr.. Zumbusch rejoiced
because of his defeat.
s'The people who once signed a petition
for this ordinance do not want the cross
ing. Many had to sign it. 1 will admit
the company has gone to great expense
in anticipation of getting this. crossing,
but it had no right to do it without first
getting the necessary consent. The COM
pany deserves to lose all it has spent. The
city should not be bulldozed in this mat
ter. We should be given more time and
our wishes should be respected"
Architect Blau said:z"I want to save
the only street leading to the shore. The
record of grade crossings is written in
blood.
He read from the interstate statistics
for 1898, showing that s,4S7 persons were
killed, 1900 being employees and 1s1
passengers.
Nearly every State in the union has
taken up this matter. Legislatures have
passed laws abolishng grade crossings.
In Chicago one railroad has elevated ten
tracks for nineteen miles and SO grade
crossings were abolished. 1t is not diff
cult to elevate the Lehigh tracks. IL the
proposed crossing were swung to the
east no grade crossing would be neces-
sary.
sAThe tracks Of the Central can be cross
ed readily enough overhead. Crossings In
that way would give a mile or more to
reach grade. The Pennsylvania has
elevated not only its tracks but its ter
minal and has found it economical to
have done so. The claim of this company
about the canal is fallacious: