Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-04

grounds and no decent means of communi-
cation with it's neiehbo~e
AS taxpayers VIC assert our rights to
nave our portion of the city receive its due
snare OF improvements. For wears we .ha sc
patiently asked this. and now we most re-
spectfuliy and earnestly petition that you
grant us a bridge across Rock creek at Q
| street and authorize the reclaim:ng and
Ieaut1iylng of Rock creek banks in its inn
mediate locality
MI. Tyrer's Letter.
Mr.. T. w. Ty'rer. writing to the Commits
sioners regarding the problem, said:
Rock Creek is the natural course for
boulevard to connect the river parks and
the mall with Rock Creek Park, and to
change its course (as was proposed by GER
tain advocates of the tunnel project would
be to destroy It's greatest charms when
once improved.
The creek should be arched over lust
where it is. and then fill made upon the
arch to within twenty feet of the present
grade of the bridge crossing it, leaving just
room for a taiiyhO to pass under the bridge
"a boulevard 100 feet wide made over the
arrh. which owners of abutting property
scoIid terrace and plant ornamental trees
and shrubbery. This would produce a
driveway Of the most charming kind and
connect in suitable manner the two great
parks of the city. promenade upon each
side of the drive would also add to the
pleasure or the people and all could be EN-
braced in a width of 100 feet
The property owners along both sides of
Rock creek have rights which are said to
extend to the ordinary water line of the
stream; therefore, it is said any land that
might be reclaimed by the proposed inn
provements would revert to them In the
old days or the corporation of GEORGETOWN
ROCK creek was the dividing line between
That city and Washington, and the people
on the abutting property owned, as thew
90 now, the ground down n he far.c
cage 1t was stated at the District Offices
that Tor this reason the Commissioners
cannot stop the dumping of refuse on the
SHORES of the creek unless such drumming
becomes a public nuisance under the health
laws of the District. For the same reason
IL Is SAID, these property owners would be
assessed Tor improvements that may be
mace IN sowing the Rock creek problem
one of the strongest arguments used bv
tle aaherentS or the bridge project is the
immediate necessities of the population for
ahs s'. lads crossing place at Q street, and
me years or delay which would follow the
adoption of the tunnel project.
Bridge Projections Confusing.
Mr. W. Riley Decide. who is a strong adj
vocate of the tunnel project, said that some
oi the bridge projectors are confusing the
present tunnel plan with the old and obso-
lete plan of 1882, which would have cost II
is stated about 100000 The present
project, he said, would cost ACCORDING 70
hsures furnished by the engineer denarf
ment of the District government, but ss5o-
IVY. me old project appeared to be an
immense land scheme which provided for
the selling of the reclaimed ground to nav
the cost of the Improvement
The tunnel project should be mi
through snrough. said Mr.. Deeble, under 25th
streets, right of way to be condemned
as in cases of extensions of sections of the
sewage disposal system. The question of
connecting the streets after the completion
OF thls portion of the work would be SIM
pie. as the areas of the streets could he
condemned and in my judgment the assess
ments for benefits would more than offset
tne damages to the adjacent properties, so
that the titles to the streets would be oh
tanned at practically no cost and by SUM-
plying the great demand for a public dunn
which these streets would meet, they would
soon De fllled to grade and the various
thoroughfares connected up for travail
leaving the individual owners to fill in their
low ground / am opposed to Temporary
eXpedlents because l believe they simply
put on the necessary permanent relief I
am convinced that had the Long bridge
been swept away by freshet twenty
years ago, the problem of proper communi-
cation with the south, as we now have II
would have been possible at that time rl,t
just as long as the railroad company could
patch up the rotten old wooden structure
Just so long was proper bridge deferred"
In summing up the results of the tunnel
project Mr.. Decide said its completion
would make continuous these streets: O.
p, Q, 23d, Oath and 25th. and release from
use the bridge across Rock creek at p
street, which could be, he added. recon
structed in some other portion of the
DIstflct where bridge is needed
In conclusion Mr.. Decide said the Gift;
zens Association of Georgetown. favors
the tunnel project, and its members he
lieve that If an appropriation of s.. 900 10
maae by the present Congress for test
pits, plans and specifications all oues
tions as to whether the work of tho nv
zee. could be accomplished would be set
tied by the next session of Congress