The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-05-31
a MARVEL IN PAVING.

The Free Press believes that the
South Second street property owners
have made a mistake in not deciding
in.favor of paving instead of the
gravel that is to be used in the i'm
provement of that street. While the
matter of paving would be somewhat
more expensive at the start, it would
be the cheapest in the end and make a
much more substantial looking street.
It would moreover be much easier to
keep clean than will the street now
being made. Then as to the cost. 1t
need not weigh so heavily upon the
property owner, if five years can be
taken in the payment thereof, as we
have been frequently told by our char
ter revisers can be done. If a start
were to be made in the matter of paw
ing, we predict that inside of FIVE
years the streets in the more central
portion of the city would be we'll paw
ed. The matter of paving would be-
come as great an epidemic as that of
cement sidewalk building now is.
In the matter of street paving Man
kato is much behind other cities of its
class through the north and central
west. 1t is even behind many cities
of only half its size. The writer spent
two or three days in and around Pom
tiac, Ill. the latter part of last and the
first of this week. 1t is little city of
about 4, 200 by Uncle Sans last count,
though it has spread out so that some
1900 people live just outside of the
corporation limits, so that its claim of
nearly 6, 900 inhabitants is probably
justified. But for all city improve
ments it is city of not over A, 500 and
is fast growing to be pretty one for
a prairie country. In the matter of
street paving Pontiac is certainly a
wonder Ali of its principal business
streets are paved, and paving is now
progressing upon its more prominent
residence streets, several of which are
already paved. The city has three
railroads. the depots of which are
located upon the outskirts ofsthe city.
The streets leading to the Alton and
the Wabash depots are already paved,
and work of paving the street leading
to the Illinois Central depot is now
under way. This improvement tends
to give the stranger very good i'm
preston of the city as he passes over
these improved streets to the hotels
and business portions of the city. The
paved portion of the street is about SO
feet, ranging but very little wider in
the business portion. There is wide
parking upon each side of the paving
in the residence portion, which is be-
ing improved, many cement walks are
being put in, and in year or two
more the paved portion of the city will
present beautiful appearance. After
the paving was commenced it was no
trouble to keep the work going and
the opinion was expressed there that
it would keep up until all of the more
important streets of the city are paved.
When the contracts now underway are
completed Pontiac will have altogether
some eight or ten miles of paving
which will make pretty good show
ing for a city of less than 8, 900 inside
its corporate limits.
Brick is the material used, and so
far as the objection made by some of
our people that it is too noisy for
residence street, there is little to it.
The traffic over this pavement makes
scarcely more noise than is noticed on
our streets when they are dry and hard
in the summer and fall months. We
do not believe this feature would be
noticed in three months.
Regarding the payment of paving,
Pontiac has one good feature that
could we'll be adopted by Mankato, and
our charter commission would do we'll
to take it under consideration before
closing its labors. The cost of the paw
ing is assessed up against the AUDITING
property and ten year bonds at FIVE
per cent issued in payment therefor
This gives the property owner the
chance of paying his paving bill in ten
annual installments and so make the
annual burden comparatively light,
and the great objection to paving is
thus removed. while the system of mar
row roadways and wide parking
greatly lessons the expense attached
thereto and gives pretty, tidy ap-
pearance to the city that is sadly
wanting in Mankato. The paving of
street intersections is paid for by the
city.
If our charter commission is wise,
it will not turn over the charter it is
now bringing to completion until it
has inserted therein a special provision
which will make it possible for paw
ing bonds to be issued and so make
the annual burden on the property
owners as small as possible and the
great objection to paving will then be
done away with.