Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-06
BETTER STREETS
ARE REQUIRED
PUBLIC WORKS BOARD ORDERS
RIGID SPECIFICATIONS
In Future Improved" Thorouahfares
Must Have Eight Inches Of
Gravel and Heavy Oil
Surface

Natural soil for street Improvement
Will not be accepted in the future bv
the board of public works. The cus-
tomary method used by contractors in
grading with garden loan and heavy
| oil VIII not be permitted
Within the past month tNventv-f,ve
petitions for improvements of streets
with natural soil and oil were sub
mtted, but i'm each instance the hoard
refused to accept the specifications and
changed them to cali for four inches of
gravel In cases where the streets have
been the main arteries of travel more
rigid requirements have been demanded
by the board, eight inches of gravel
and a liberal application of heavy oil
being the dictum.
AS a general rule the property own
ers have consented to the change I'm
the specifications. In cases where there
have been objections the board has re-
fused to recommend the street as DIM
proved" Without this recommendation
the streets will not be taken care of
by the city.
What Improvement" Means
Improvement as defined by the board.
means to place the street in ffrst-cIass
| condition. If the edicts of the board
are complied with the city will be
obliged to care for a street In the fu-
ture, that is, after the formal accent
ance of it has been made. After the
acceptance the city is fully as re-
sponsible for its care as for the asphalt
and gravel surface thoroughfares.
One of the causes for this order is
that by careful calculations and deduc-
tions 1T has been learned that twenty
miles of natural soil streets require as
much attention as fifty miles of gravel
streets
Another reason is that both property
owners and the city have been swindled
by dishonest contractors. In instances
where six and eight inches of gravel
have been called for in the specifica-
tions, investigation has revealed that
only two inches have been used.
The latter streets were accepted be-
fore the board was organized. The only
alternative that can be used now IS
to instruct the ward foreman to keep
the street in the best possible condition
under the circumstances. Orders to do
this would not have been necessary had
the fraud been reported when the
streets were first improved
Dishonest Contractors
In the opinion of the board of public
works some cement contractors are as
dishonest as the street graders. The
concoction for the making of streets
seems to have been often composed of
q mixture of river sand, less cement
and a certain amount of good inten-
tions. The board of public works says
that certain contractors were on spe-
cially friendly terms with this street
mixture.
A rule placing all details for street
construction under the engin eering de-
partment has been adopted by the
board. In the past it has been a joint
proposition by the engineering and
street departments. The street de-
department is now responsible for the
care of the streets after they have been
formally accepted as improved" The
street department is also to be held
responsible for the collection and in
cineration of garbage.
Where the natural soil streets have
been accepted the city will carry out
its part of the contract. But on all
new streets the required four inches
of gravel will be required or they will
not be accepted as Improved"