The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-05-24
WHAT IS SAID OF
THE CRE0s0TED
BLOCK
What Some Of the Large Cities
Think of creosote
Blocks.


League of American Municipalities,
Page ID
The action of New York city in paw
ing the down town section with wood
block pavement, ranks as one of the
finest achievements of the last three
administrations.
New York has been for years con-
frOnted with the fact that it must al
low heavy trucking to be done in the
heart of its Office building district.
The position of this district at the
lower end of the island, with the wa
ter front enclosing it on three sides
without direct railroad connection,
makes it necessary for all the vast
trucking work of the seaport, to
traverse the business district on the
way to the trains, and freight depots.
1t is impossible to restrict this traffic
to any special route, as all the streets
are needed to avoid congestion.
In a few cases, asphalt has been
laid on streets that are least necessary
to the trucks. With these exceptions,
the inhabitants are compelled to en-
dure the moist and uproar as best
they can.
Offices on lower floors of New York
skyscrapers rented at lower prices
than those higher up, because during
the hot summer. the noise of traffic
made it impossible for business men
in the Offices to converse without
keeping the windows tightly closed.
The first hint of a possibility of re-
lief to nerve racked citizens came with
the laying of the wood block pave
ment on West Broadway. This was a
sample strip laid as test of it's abil-
ity to endure the enormous traffic. The
relief from noise was immediate and
complete for it was found that traffic
on this street was reduced to the
silence of country roads.
Almost Immediately petitions were
sent in by property owners for the
extension of the use of this pavement
on every downtown street. These
petitions were signed not only by the
owners of Offices. but also by the larg-
est trucking interests in the city. The
total mercantile ratings of the signers
Of one of these petitions aggregated
over s20,O00,O00.
The eventual decision of the bureau
of highways. to use the pavement
throughout the financial district met
with universal appreciation. Many of
the streets are already paved with this
material and Broadway itself, from
the Battery to City Hall park, is to
be covered with this pavement during
the coming spring.
Curious as it may seem. wood blocks
will outwear granite. asphalt Or brick,
a result that is obtained by the simple
eXpedient of laying the wood with the
grain vertical so that splintering is
impossible.
From Paris.
The following is an extract from an
editorial letter of Edward Rosewater,
written from Paris, published in the
Omaha Bee, under date of April 80,
1906.
The unexpected does not often hap
pen, but the most unexpected sights
in the streets of Paris are the wood
block pavements. Fifteen years ago,
the avenues and boulevards in the
heart of the city, which for centuries
had been paved with stone. were be-
ing repaved with asphalt. Now the
widest and most travelled thorough
fares are paved with sawed wood
blocks, of about AXIS inches surface
and three inches thickness. These
blocks are first creosoted. then laid on
a heavy base of concrete and oiled.
Thus treated, the wooden block pave
ments of Paris are as smooth as
waXed ball room floor. The prefer
ence of wood over asphalt. is claimed
to be due to the softening of the as
phalt in the summer season and its
slipperiness in winter. The wood pave
ment is just noiseless. much easier
on the horses and more agreeable to
drive over than asphalt. 1t is con-
coded. however, that the original cost
of wood block pavement is much
greater than asphalt, owing to the
high price of lumber, but Paris is
bound to have the best paved streets,
whatever the cost may be.
From London.
To the Editor Of the Pail Mall Ga
zette.
Sir: 1t has come to my knowledge
that the London county council tram
way which is now being laid along
the embankment is to be paved with
granite sets, and. as constant user
of this splendid thoroughfare,
should like to point out the great harm
that will be done if this retrograde
policy is adopted. The embankment