The sun., 1901-04-10
CARE OF
CITY STREETS
Secretary Wiley Makes Some I'm
portant Recommendations,
COST OF LIGHTING STREETS
Old Fashioned Wooden Street Name
Signs are Favored-Brick Paved
Sidewalks Most Expensive
Glass in Use.
COST OF LIGHTING STREETS


portant suggestions are contained III
the annual report of the Street and
Sewer Department for the year ended
january 31st, which has been compiled
by Secretary Harvey J. Wiley.
He states that the department as
sumed jurisdiction of the streets and
highways, sewers etc., in the year 1887,
when the city had few, il any good
streets and the principal materials used
upon the highways We're ashes and the
primatiye cobble stones. The depart
nent begun the work of general street
improvements with the season of 1891.
The paving improvements have been
continued to the present time with as
much eXpedlency as has been compat-
.ble with good work and says the secre-
cary: 1T has been with much regret
that we We're compelled, on account OF
insufficient funds to curtail the amount
OF paving, which had otherwise been
contemplated"
Over $1,000 was expended during the
past season on the work of repairing the
streets Extensive repairs were made
rom material rendered available from
sections Of streets wEsa8 paving inn
provements We're made.
| There are about 54 miles of streets
and avenues improved which have been
LEANED most effectively by hand brooms
and the sweeping machines for general
work and by the patrol cart system for
prick payements and ON the highways
| IN the line of general business travel.
| On account Of the prevalence of good
weather, the street commissioner found
| 1t necessary to keep the street cleaning
corps at work for a longer season than
| mas been heretofore practicable and the
cost for the years cleaning was but a
fraction more than $4,000, making an
leverage cost of about $27S per mile of
improved streets or $196 to each one
Thousand of our population and one and
one-half cents per square yard OF I'M
proved streets, being an average cost
ess per square yard than large num-
her of American cities.
| The secretary suggests the adoption
of the hand patrol cart holding nest
lof cans or vessels, by which means a
lpatrolman will have sufficient vessels to
he filled and set along his route to be
collected and emptied into a wagon or
art which will be required to follow and
make collections from several districts;
,hs scheme will permit a patrolman to
remain ut work upon his district at all
times; then again the brick-paved
streets in the business sections at least,
ould be most effectively and thoroughly
.leansed by flushing such sections at
night with water from our fire hyd-
lrants.
The cost for lighting the streets dur
ing the past year was $45,59S.67, which
lmenns 60 cents for each of our 76,500
inhabitants.
There were 996 permits issued to sun
ldry persons entitled under the regula-
tions, to open beds of streets for the pur-
lpose Of making sewer connections or
laying and repairing service pipes OF
various kinds and for depOsiting build
ing material, etc. These permits are di-
vided into classes as follows: For use of
streets, 124; for opening streets, 696; for
use of sewers, 176; total, 996.
The use of the old Fashioned woodcl:
signs for street names is recommended
and the suggestion made that owners OF
lproperty located ut the intersection of
streets be required to place a block
lshowing the name of each street in theil
building ut the time of erection or re.
modelling of such building, thus making
La permanent name sign.
The secretary says brick paved side
walks are of the most expensive class
in use on account of the difficulty IN
keeping such i'll proper repair, there
fore, regulation requiring all new side
walks in front of buildings to be laid
with cement. particularly those in the
business sections of the city, should be
Iadopted. The regulation requiring rount
or circular curb corners to he set al
lstreet intersections has proved to be OF
decided advantage and the secretary
recommends that all the old style rect
, angular corners be changed, commencing
on the streets in the business sections
The ashes and rubbish collections b,
contract have been more satisfactoril,
performed the past season than fol
several seasons. The secretary think
the only way to secure the best o
I, services is for the department to do til,
! work itself.
The Wilmington City Hallway Co.
mileage in the city is 2S1a and that 0
4 the Peoples Railway Co. about nine
9 Sewer mileage, including about sever
q miles of private sewers, is 62%. Their
are SIS gas lamps in the city, 267 ar
e lamps. and $50 incandescent lamps.
' The financial report is as follows
Balance February 1. 1900, $50, ,1O4.07: re
ceipts for year ending January 81, 1901
$780, 6,o1s,33; total, $1S6,122.40 Expense