The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1907-03-29
KEEP OPEN PHILIP AVENUE.

western railway says that new de-
pot will be built in Norfolk this year.
He says that 1t will be union station
If the Union Pacific and Omaha are
willing to cooperate in the matter.
Otherwise the Northwestern will go
1t alone and replace the uptown sta
ton which was destroyed year ago
last November and for the lack of
which graceful little passenger coach
has been used as a station ever since.
| 1t was recently stated that the quail
ity Of the depot to be built, IL the
Northwestern goes alone in the mat
ter, will depend upon whether or not
Phillip avenue is closed. This is the
same old question which was brought
up as a matter to quarrel over, a year
and a half ago. 1t was said that If the
city would vacate Philip avenue the
station would be better than if the
| street were not vacated. Residents
living west of the site, who find Philip
avenue sorely needed for going to and
from places of business and for chill
dren's use in going to school, filed an
injunction to prevent the city council
form vacating the street. The matter
went into the courts and the city wait
ed. Finally decision came empower
ing the city council to pass an ordi-
nance. The enjoiners have announced
that they will not drop the matter.
Senator Allen declares he will move
for rehearing and, failing, carry the
case to the United States supreme
court. All of which, regardless of the
final outcome, means more time.
And even though a decision were
finally secured giving the council au-
thority to vacate Philip avenue, the
city would be merely put back to the
starting point in confronting the ques-
ton as to whether or not that street
ought o be closed
Since the first proposal to close the
street was urged upon Norfolk a year
and half ago, the city has had a
chance to study the matter pretty thor
oughly The matter was put in the
form of a business proposition-was
1t worth closing the street to get a
better depot? At best only $4,000
station was promised. No estimate
was made as to the station that might
be built if the street were kept by the
city 1t was stated originally that the
street needed to be closed because
the station would be so large that it
would need to stand in the middle of
| the avenue. Later it was stated that
the station might not be built in the
street, but that platform might be
so long that the city would have to
give up the street All these argu-
ments have been gone over at length.
The News is convinced that the street
closing was urged by Northwestern
officials and their local sympathizers
year and half ago merely for the
sake of freeing the company from ne
cessity of breaking trains at Philip
avenue. The News is of the opinion
| that some sort of a depot will have to
be built anyway, whether the city sur
renders one of it's most important av-
enues or not, and that if the railroad
thinks it can afford to place an inferior
depot in Norfolk, retaliating for the
fact that the city wants to keep one
of its important thoroughfares for its
own use, then the thing to do will be
to take the depot that must come any
way-and keep the street.
The only fair way to settle that
street closing matter is to allow the
people living in the vicinity to say
whether or not they are willing their
avenue. They have said that they are
rot, and The News believes that they
have taken the right stand. The News
does not believe that enough is to be
gained in a few thousand dollars add
ed to a station, to reimburse Norfolk
for vacating one of it's most important
streets for all time to come.
Mr.. Gardner said the other day that
Norfolk has already been required to
wait too long for a respectable sta
ton. He said Norfolk had been pa
tent Norfolk has been patient. Nor
folk has been forced to use that out
rageous little coach as station too
Tonga year and half too long. Pa
tience may cease to be a virtue and the
time has come when Norfolk demands
a modern depot, a credit to the city,
and it doesn't feel that it is necessary