Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-03-28
PAVING STREETS
Properly Owners in the North
 End Are Complaining.

The remarks made at the hearing
 before the board of public works Tuesday night regarding the pro-
 position to pave Elizabeth and Bishop streets brought
 very forcibly the injustice of assessing abutting property own CTS for permanent street pavement, especially when the work is being done not for the special benefit of those who have to pay, as appeared to be the case in those two instances, but rather on account of travel fore ed into 1t because more public thor oughfares have been rendered almost impossible on account of slippery pavement. There is not store nor a place of business of any kind in our street." said one man and the heavy travel we have there does not belong to it by right, but to North Main street. Why, then, should we be assessed for an eXpen- sive pavement that never would be needed if the heavy trucking to and from the mills should take its natur- al rOute."
 There is nothing new in this pro- test except that it emphasizes the fact that the system is wrong and should be remedied as soon as possible Every street in Waterbury should be paved with some kind of material, but the cost should be met by the public and not by private individuals. It will come to that yet and the long CT it is deferred the more difficult it will be to bring about the change. People who have paid will find fault when they hear that work for which they paid assessments is to be done in other places on a different basis and as result the thing is likely to go on for many years, but the change is bound to come. A few years ago some raised big protest against the city repairing the side walks, simply because they had all iways paid for having theirs" fixed
 But the law was changed and this led to another step putting portion Of the expense of construction on the public, and this is by no means the end. The municipality owns the en- tire street, sidewalks and all, and ev- cry dollar spent on them should come out of the public treasury Be- cause private individuals have been putting down their good money to construct and maintain sidewalks and to pave streets is no reason why | 1t should be continued indefinitely Every one admits that the system is wrong, but nobody cares to take the initiative in an effort to place the burden where it rightfully belongs. Some streets are surface hardened, but no assessments is levied for that class of work, although in many in- stances it is much more desirable than bitulithic, vitrified bricks or other material for which abutting property owners have to pay hand sOmely. It was admitted during that talk Tuesday that macadam would do on Elizabeth street as well as on Cooke street were it not for the heavy trucking on the former street, and yet 1t seems this heavy travel is not for the special benefit of those who will have to pay the bills.
 The system is wrong and it never will be righted until the people take 1t in their own hands. They know the remedy and so long as they neglect to have it applied it is a question if they are entitled to much consideration. The trouble is due very largely to the fact that nobody gives the matter thought until he Is cited in fp ha hoord opd tban fn, the first time he realizes the injust- ice of it. He makes a protest, but 1t does not amount to anything. Later on he gets his bill and he set ties. and so the work goes on with out practical step being taken to remedy the evil.