New-York tribune., 1907-06-09
CHEAP STREET CLEANING.

The commission TO be appointed by the Mayor
10 investigate street cleaning in other cities and
devise an improved system for New York NAV
advantageously look into what is being accom-
plished in Chicago, which. according to The En-
gineerlng Record profits by remarkable dem
Onstration of the efficiency of private street
cleaning. Chicagos streets have been for years
VIGOROUSLY III kept. poorly paved and dirty. The
city spends about one-tenth rs much mile upon
the cleaning of its streets New York does
the old city charter preventing an adequate ap-
prOprlatlOn A couple OF years ago the mer-
chants and other business men of the central
commercial section OF Chicago undertook to
clean that section Of the city themselves. They
obtained a contract from the city 10 clean
district containing ifty-sx city blocks-a little
less than six miles of streets. The city paid
them what it had been accustomed to pay for
cleaning the section and the merchants contrib
uted what additional money was found nrceS.
sary The pavements We're 50 per cent Belgian
blocks in poor repair, so that the cleaning was
more difficult than the average In this city
where two-thlrds more Of the street area is
paved with asphalt. Again, the area cleaned
was more difficult than is the average I'm New
York, for the district was the most congested
in Chicago, the heavy traffic increasing the dirt
on the streets. The sweeping is done by hand
with man 10 each onehaf TO two blocks. ac-
cording TO the character OF the pavement and
amount Of traffic. The street refuse instead
Of being simply swept into the gutter 10 be scat
tered by wind or by traffic. is gathered into
boxes placed at intervals on the edge of the side
walk, which wagons regularly empty
The streets are swept thoroughly on an aver
age Of TWO and One-half times each weekday
and once OH Sunday. A daily statement is made
of the cost of cleaning each section. SO that
each foreman is able to compare the cost of tba
work done under him with the cost OF that done
under other foremen. The effect of this is 10
create a spirit of rivalry" says The Engineer
ing Record Let any one who chooses trv TO
Imagine spirit Of rivalry between street clean
ing fOremen in the municipal employ The total
cost Of cleaning these six miles Of streets IpcIud
Ing snow removal, sweeping the streets more
than twice daily and actually removing the
sweepings was $59,546 for the wear 1906 chi
cago furnished $4,000 OF this and the rest was
privately subscribed The private sweeping was
begun in 1904, and with experience and an i'm
proved system the cost has been steadily ra
duced. In 1904 the cost of sweeping one tbou-
sand square yards varied from 50 40 to 81 38 n
day. In 1905 it varied from 81 IS to IS cents.
and la"t year the average was only - cents
This shows how, with intelligence and the en-
terprise of a private undertaking economies in
the cost of street cleaning can be effected.
III Is impossible 10 make any comparison with
"a" N"'l VI Slictt cltdhluR IN NeW 1Ork, for
90 not know the cost of cleaning any small area
III TINS city corresponding TO the special section
or chicago. About six miles of poorly paved
streets, the most used in Chicago, cost .j46
year 10 Keep clean-that is TO say, about
$1,000 mile. Apparently if money could be
spent as economically In New York as II has
Deen In chicago one hundred miles of New York
business streets could be swept twice day and
the sweepings and snow removed for SIOOOOOO
New Aorks Street Cleaning Department snent
IN 1904 about SS,000,O00 more than 50 O00 600
going Tor snow removal alone. 1t cleaned tbat
year about sixteen hundred miles of streets
most OF them naturally of the sort receiving in
frequent sweeping. New York's streets are not
so thoroughly manned is this small section
of Chicago for Chicago has a sweeper to almost
every block, while the Borough of Manhattan IN
1903 had one to every five blocks. But then nor
so many sweepers are needed on asphalt nsva
ment as on stone and not nearly so MANY would
be needed to keep clean the average residence
district In New York as the downtown district Of
Chicago. Undoubtedly we have to pay more for
sweepers than does the Citizens Street Cleaning
Bureau OF Chicago. and the removal and disposi-
ton of refuse are much more expensive here
than there. Still, not only is IL costing us a
vast sum Of money. but our streets are not kept
clean, while those IN Chicagos selected area ara