New-York tribune., 1902-08-01
UNION STATIONS NORTH OF HARLEM.

-rra r,s++ar of the Grand Central Station being
disposed Of every effort should be mace 10 G Ge
velop, north OF the Harlem, one or more union I!
stations to serve the needs OF the traNeIl..S
public. II is one of the greatest merits OF M.
Parsons's plan for carrying the railroad OF the
Brooklyn Bridge underground that 1t makes, S
near the City Hail. union station for orlose
trains, for the subway and for the elevated iou "a.
of the East Side. If a similar common GeAttg
were developed north Of the Harlem. thlIlh @
it will be apparent how greatly the convenience
OF the travelling public would be conserved
The East Side subway, already being planned
for should Of course, be carried to completion
as early as possible. and neither should the
Jerorle-ave. extension, already approved by the
Rapid Transit Commission, be forgotten
It does not seem necessary TO discuss at length
the 1esira biiity of carrying the existing subway
on Broadway from Forty-second-st, down TO
the Battery That is a development that must
come in the not distant future only Wlsh 10
EXPRESS one thought. at the present time, IN
connection with it; and that is that pipe gal
leries shall be provided for on such an ample
scale that the surface Of Broadway, after this
work is completed, will never have TO be dis
turbed again, in any future that can be fore-
seen to-day This seems to be almost an gs-
sentsal condition for permitting this work 10 De
done.
Third-The improvement OF the city's COM
uaercial facilities in connection with the deve!-
onnnent of the water front on Manhattan Island.
The improvements already made by the DOCK
Department and those that are ABOUT 10 pe
begun provide not only for a large number or
modern piers but also for an exterior street
go feet in width. This street is already com
pleted, with uniHportant breaks from Corl-
iandt-st to Gansevoort MaFiket. and It will soon
be completed as far as Thrty-eighth-st
UTILITY OF A wEsT-sT. ELEVATED ROAD
This street is wide enough to permit Of the
erection without disadvantage to anybody, or
an elevated railroad, having a spur, II desired,
running down every pier Such an elevated
railroad might easily be carried from the lower
part of the island up to a point where 1t reaches
the right of way Of the NeW-YOrk Central and
Hudson River Railroad. at Thirtieth-st. If the
PENNSYLVANIA tunnel franchise should be grant
ed, II would not be difficult TO make connec-
ton between the Pennsylvania system and this
exterior road. The result would be railroad
directly connecting every pier upon the west
side Of Manhattan Island with the New York
Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad systems
I can think of nothing that would add more
Importantly TO the commercial advantages of
this port. ! am OF the opinion that, so far from
be a very large source Of income to the city
think that the city should not wait until some
comes along and asks for this franchise.
hut that the Rapid Transit Commission should
take steps at early day TO perfect a franchise
such as / have outlined. When completed the
franchise may either be let, under the terms of
which will enable the build the road itself
and rent it to the hes bidder. AS soon as
the engineer Of the Did Transit Commission
has been able TO work some of the matters
sion TO take the necessary steps TO prepare such
a franchise.
It is an old saying that there is a time for
everything" In my judgment, this is the time
for the city of New York to readjust its tran
sit facilities in large spirit 1 have outlined
the city's needs they impress themselves
upon me- and hope that this discussion Of them
will bring out other suggestions that will prove
valua BILE. g
Next week I expect to talk about the police
After that propose to leave the city for short
time If circumstances permit, and my weekly
| talks will be suspended until my return.