Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-20
NO AGREEMENT IN
STREET TANGLE
REMAINING ARGUED BEFORE
BOARD OF WORKS
MAJORITY FAVoRS SCHEME
For Nearly Three Hours Citizens OF
the Southern Section Of the City
Discuss Question, but
Cannot Agree

Street names for the southern Sec
tion Of Los Angeles was the question
with which the board of public works
wrestled for nearly three hours yes
terday afternoon. The committee rooms
were crowded to the doors with repre-
sentatives of the Vernon, University
and South Side Improvement assocl-
ations, who had gone to the city hall
to approve suggest improvements or
fatty oppose the plan which City En-
gineer Harry Stafford drew up at the
request of the council to straighten out
the tangle of streets and numbers in
the district affected.
In order to get a uniform system OF
numbering south of Jefferson street
it has become necessary to change the
names of ninety streets which run
east and west. Thomas Lloyd repre-
sented the University section and fatty
refused to consider any plan which
should change the names of any of the
streets in his section, though he was
perfectly willing that all of the street
names on the other side of town should
be changed and favored this plan. He
claimed prior right to the numbers of
the streets in his section, but this point
Is disputed, the opinion appearing to
be that the streets south of Jefferson,
in the Vernon district, were numbered
first.
Take Broad view
The Vernon and South Side represen-
tatives took a broader view of the
question and said that, while the people
they represented knew that the change
would work hardship upon them for a
time. they are citizens of Los Angeles
and want to see the tangle Strengthened
out. as they believe it to be to the best
interests Of the city.
This question of naming and number
ing the streets south of Jefferson, and
some of them north of 1t, is not new
by any means, but has been fought
over and over again before. Some time
ago a commission of five men each
from the Sixth and Fifth wards was
appointed by the council to study the
subject and submit plan which would
be satisfactory to both sides. They
met several times. but owing to the re-
fusal of a few of the members to grant
anything no compromise was reached
and the commission died a natural
death.
Hancock Survey Angle
The manner in which the Hancock
survey laid out the streets of the city
on an angle of twenty eight degrees is
responsible for the mix-up.
Santa Barbara avenue marks the
boundary of the old pueblo and runs di-
rectly east and west, as do all of the
streets south of it, they being in a sec
tion of the city admitted later than the
Hancock survey. Santa Barbara ave-
nue., according to the plan suggested
by the city engineer, Is to be made
Forty first street, and all of the streets
south of it can then be numbered reg
ularly. Those between it and Jefferson
must be switched around, however, to
make the numbers come out even.
City Engineer Stafford says that un-
til the question is settled and some
uniform method adopted he cannot give
any more numbers to streets south of
Jefferson. The majority of the people
affected by the change are in favor of
the proposed plan, but the question was
laid over for two weeks in order to
give the University contingent time to
prepare and suggest better scheme
for Strengthening out the tangle.