The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-09-06
Who Gives Some Information to
Those Who are Now Contenl.
plating Building Walks.
DEFINES THE STONE SIDEWALK
LIMITS, AS ADOPTED BY THE
ciTY-FAVoRs THE coNSTRUc.
TroN OF CEMENT WALKS, As
THEY ARE MORE DURABLE.

The matter of new sidewalks of high
er grade. is being agitated in all por-
tions of the city just at present with the
gratifying result that in many portions of
the city new walks are being constructed.
Mayor Chas. H. Bliss, who has made a
study of the question, yesterday gave the
following information to a Journal rep
resentative. which will prove interesting
at this time:
The city ordinances require the own
ers of property within certain limits to
construct sidewalk upon a grade to be
fixed by the city engineer. The city
engineer is required to stake and mark
sidewalk grades free of charge, for any
person who desires to build or rebuild
sidewalk. Nearly all of the sidewalks in
the city are six co. feet in width except
on Palafox street, portion of Garden
street and a portion of Government
street. The central portion of the city
from Belmont street to the bay is known
as the ''stone limits" in which it is I'M
lawful to build any wooden walks. The
ordinance requires the owner to keep his
sidewalk in repair and he can be fined
and imprisoned for refusing to repair it
when notified.
1.-THE question of sidewalks is an i'm
portant one in Pensacola, and more good
substantial walks have been built during
the past two years than any time pre-
vious in the history of the city The
people are recognizing that wooden side
walks are short lived, liable to early de
cay and, above all, that they are I'M
sanitary. At best they preent an I'M
even surface to walk upon and furnish
harbor for rats and vermin and disease
breeding germs, and soon become dilapi-
dated in some portion or another and
become a menace to the safety Of pass
ers-by. Besides all this, taking it in the
long run, the wooden walk Is the most
expensive that can be built.
Brick walks have been laid In some
parts of the city but they are very I'M
satisfactory as bricks are not of the same
hardnes and they wear unevenly, and it
is but short time that the brick side
walk wears so 1t is soon full Of holes
that will retain water every time it rains
All one has to do to convince themselves
that brick walks are not desirable is to
simply notice the brick walks as they
walk walk laid by the city on the west
side Of the Plaza few years ago is
worn out until it now has to be re-
built as several places are worn en-
tirely through at the present time.
Sidewalk building in Pensacola is set
Ting down to the modern up-to-da
method of building sidewalks of cement,
or artificial stone, as 1t is called. These
sidewalks are the most lasting that are
made. Good cement will outwear stone
and a walk properly put down will last
a lifetime. The first cement walk in
Pensacola was constructed twenty six
years ago around the Citizens Bank and
that is still in a good state of preser-
walton. Many of the blocks appear to be
little worn and are probably good for
twenty-five or fifty years to come
There have been a great many shoddy
sidewalks put down III Pensacola and
given the name of cement sidewalks.
Some of these are so poorly built that
they have gone to pieces, within few
months, and some of them are built so
thin that they break the first time
heavy impact comes upon them. OF
course a sidewalk of this kind is cheaper
to build than a good one, but, after all
it is very expensive walk because it
has to be rebuilt in time.
1.-THE building of cement walks in Pen
sacola at the present time is divided be-
tween two or three styles of building.
One plan, which has been practiced to
considerable extent, is to build a walk of