New-York tribune., 1902-04-27
R. R. BOARD CRITICISED.
FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLAR PLAN OP-
POSED BY CITY OFFICIALS.
STUDENTS OF THE BRIDGD PROBLEM SAY
TUNNELS WOULD SOLVE IT AT FAR
SMALLER COST.


SMALLER COST
The formal declaration of the State Railroad
Commission in favor of Bridge Commissioner
LndenthaTs plan to spend S15.O00.0O0 IN ex-
tending the Manhattan terminal Of the Brook
lyn Bridge and the City Hall station Of the
Manhattan Railway Company in Park Row
spoken Of yesterday by city officials useless
even If II fell short of meddlng with local af-
fairs. Mr.. Lindenthals plan IL was said had
been shown TO be preposterous. 1t had excited
general ridcule when II was made public. For
State officials 20 take up and approve the plan
looked. it said. like attempt TO interfere
with the right Of the local authorities to deal
with & strictly local question.
Controller Grout putspoken IN his con-
demnation OF the proposed plan and he declared
that ii could not be considered seriously because
of the enormous expense involved.
1T is simply useless for the State Railroad
Cimmission to suggest any scheme whether
conceived by Commissioner Lindenthal any
else, that will involve an expense OF S13,-
000000' said the Controller yesterday The
city hasn't that much money spend this year
for the proposed Improvement, and Furthermore,
il viii not have the money next year. Nor is II
at all desirable IN my Judgment. for the city TO
begin any such costly Improvement in the
hope that in few years there Will be money to
push the work through. Unless something can
be suggested that will result in early i'm
provefnent. II IS idle, I think. TO consider this
idea urged by the State Railroad Commission
Others said that if the city had $4,000
600 to spend for extending traffic facilities IT
would be foolish to spend It In enlarging the
stations at the Manhattan end Of the bridge,
because after the money spent the bridge
would not be able 10 carry single additional
passenger. Why, it asked, should the city
a1- be Orig 90 Of he
bridge IN making changes that would not in
crease the traffic facilities the bridge? For
the same money the city could construct sew
eral tunnels between Manhattan and Brooklyn,
vastly increasing the traffic facilities between
the two boroughs. and thus relieving the crush
on the bridge. The tunnels, It said. could
be constructed without interfering in the least
with the bridge its terminals. and would
bring permanent relief to the bridge. while the
changes proposed by Mr.. Lindenthal and in
dorsed by the State Railroad Commission would
create for a time an intolerable state Of con-
fusion and crushing at the Manhattan terminal.
The Endorsement Of the Lindenthal plan by
the State Railroad Commission, said one OF
the men interested IN the situation. comes at a
most fnopportune time The Mayor has just
appealed to the Rapid Transit Commission to
take up an investigation Of the subject. and
arrangements have been made for a hearing
lnanent relief. The Rapid Transit Commission,
as everybody familiar with the situation will
admit Is we'll qualified to Judge of the plans. 1t
has the assistance of competent engineers who
are used to dealing with local traffic conditions
1t may be said without question. therefore, that
the local commission should be allowed TO deal
with the problem without interference by State
commission that probably is not well qualified
or competent TO Judge in such matters Appar-
entity the deliverance Of the State commission
Will have no effect. except to convince some
people that the commission is inclined TO needle
where its interference is not needed.
THE absurdity of the statement by the State
Railroad Commission said engineer who
has studied the bridge conditions. is
readily when one considers that the excuse for
any statement was investigation by the COM
missions engineers TO discover if some way
could be found relieve the crush at the eleva
ted station the bridge terminal The in
vestigation was asked for by the Manhattan
Railway Company. not by the city. The COM
mission found that the railway station in Park
Row could not be enlarged except by the Lin
denthaI plan. to condemn the entire city block
in which the 'Staats-Zeitung' Building stands.
so il recommends that plan by which the city
would spend $1,000 600. with the net result Of
increasing the railway company's terminal ia
cilities.
LAS q matter of fact. the city could relieve the
congestion at the Manhattan terminal Of the
bridge by spending not more than S5.OOO,OOO
in the construction of a tunnel for a double
track electric road under Fulton-st. in Manhat-
tan. under the East River and under Fulton-st.
In Brooklyn. Nearly half the people who cross
the bridge daily would travel such road
and save a great deal of time by II. The tun-
mel should have connections by stations and
stairways with the subway at Broadway In
Manhattan and at the Borough Hall in Brook
lyn. The road would be a paying investment
to any private corporation which built it. but the
city should own the franchise. II should be
membered that many thousands OF people cross