The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-12-21
THERE is A LIGHT.
Kansas Avenue in Fair Way to
Be Repaired.
Property Owners at Last Sign
the Petitions.
THEY WANT ASPHALT.
Would Preserve Original Beauty
Of the Street.
Contemplate Erection Of Munich
pal Plant.
THEY WANT ASPHALT.

Kansas avenue may be repaved after
all with asphalt as it should be. A
majority of the resident property own
ers owning property abutting on KAN
sas avenue have signed a petition which
has been circulated for the repaving
of Kansas avenue with asphalt, the
cost not to exceed SIS for any fronting
lot
There are approximately 5000 lineal
feet on Kansas avenue between First
and Tenth avenues and of this amount
about 1900 feet is owned by non-resi-
dent property owners whose signatures
are not required to be attached to a
petition. This leaves twenty eight. hun
bred HneaI feet on which taxes are
paid by resident owners and Of this
2462 feet are represented upon the petit
ton.
Two petitions are in circulation, enc
for the repaving Of North Kansas ave-
nue. and the other for this side Of the
river. The former has not been pushed
vigorously, the latter has been in cir
culation for the past week. The word
ing of the petitions was dictated by W.
E. Sterne who is property owner on
Kansas avenue
The form of the petition follows:
we, the undersigned property owners
OF real estate fronting on Kansas ave
nue. in the city of Topeka, kan, mere
by respectfully petition your honorable
body to repave Kansas avenue from
the south curb line of First street to
the south curb line of Tenth ave nue.,
excepting therefrom Kansas avenue
from the north curb line of Third
street to the south curb line OF FOurth
street, with asphalt and use only
high grade of asphalt, such as Ber-
mudez, Venezuelan OF Lake Maracaibo
and that the city IN making up specif1-
cations use not less than u per cent of
asphalt composed of IS per cent pure
bitunen: said repaVing to be 90feet wide,
excepting that part occupied by the
street railway tracks and cutters, ana
said repaving shall not cost more
than SIS for any rs feet fronting on the
line of such improvement.
The laying of the pavement Is TO be
done by a municipal asphalt plant.
Though nothing is said about munich
pal plant in the petition the basis CT
the understanding upon which the sig
natures were secured was that 4 munich
pal asphalt plant would be purchased
by the city at large.
At SIS a fronting lot the cost with
equal valuation on all lots would be
79 cents per square yard But m maxi
ing assessments for taxing up the cost
of pavement the. corner lots are always
placed at a higher valuation than those
situated further away. This would null
down still further the maximum cost
which could be considered under the
petition. The corner locs cannot be 9s-
seSsed with a cost to exceed SIS the lots
in the center will have their maximum
reduced from $754and this in turn will
Dull down the maximum cost from f9
cents to a lower figure. The paving
must be kept within some figure lower
than 70 cents.
A meeting of the property owners will
be called for some time the fore part
of next week at which a committee Will
be appointed and the petition ana re-
quest for q municipal asphalt planr Will
be submitted by this committee to the
city council
II don't think that anything will
come of it said w. H. Davis, mayor,
when asked for an expression, for the
simple reason that they are asking
There is nothing in the petition which 1
saws anything about maintenance and
that will mean that the city VIII nave
to take care of that Kansas avenue
pavement and keep it in repair for all
time to come. That is something that
the people who don't own property on
Kansas avenue won't stand for Ihey
are to pay for the municipal asphalt
plant, and L don't believe that they viii
feel favorable towards that either. 1t
does not materially clear up the situa-
ton and it brings. it practically to the
place where it stood before
THE council of course has expressed
itself against a municipal plant; they
don't stand firm. however, and they
may change their minds" Mayor Da-
Wis himself has been in favor of a
municipal asphalt plant.
eff the holes in the concrete base are
to be patched and leveled up Kansas
avenue can not be repaved for 79 cents
a yard, said City Engineer McCabe.
at will cost about Il cents yard to
fix up this concrete as the base is I'M
its present condition and by next spring
it will be in a worse condition. be-
lfeve myself that brick is the pavement
to be put down, that it will last longer.
I am a brick man, but of course if the
property owners want asphalt they
should have asphalt. But unless you
figure on cost for maintenance and
for ineidentals and for fixing up the
base. you viii find that you have fallen
short on the estimate. Seventy-nine
cents won't do all Of this"
City Engineer McCabe has under
gone radical change of heart. He
first said brick could not be used.