The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1908-02-14
WANTED: A POLICY
In HIGHWAY WORK
Suggestions Which the Voters Should
Give Consideration Before Elect
ing Road Commissioner
Start in Right Direction.

Editor Reformer:-
With the annual town meeting near at
hand several questions present themselves
for the consideration of the voters and
taxpayers OF Brattleboro and not the least
among these is the question of repairs
and improvements to our highways. A
town like any other corporation should
have well chosen policy regarding the
care and improvements of its properties
and once that policy has been well chosen
it should be the aim of the town to see
that it is carried out. This can be accom-
plished only by placing men at the head
Of the highway department who are in
sympathy with the towns policy for i'm
provement and in line with advanced ideas
on highway construction and maintenance
as early as possible.
1t has been our method to elect road
commissioner without requiring any state
ment from him as to what his method or
policy would be, and he has gone ahead
and carried out such methods as in his
judgment were for the best interests of
the town only to be later condemned and
abused because his ideas were at variance
with our own. Now this way may or may
not be a commendable way to proceed
but it certainly leads to much disappoint
ment and to calumny and abuse of our
road officials. On account of this abuse
it often happens that when we want to
elect men best fitted for this important
position they decline to serve. No road
commissioner can be expected to suit
every voter because as a rule people ex-
pect better roads than they are willing to
appropriate for and it is therefore well
to consider what part of the blame really
rests with the voters relative to the con-
dltion of our highways.
| believe the time has arrived when the
town of Bratteboro should take hold of
this road improvement matter in bust
nesslike way and follow it up with such
constancy that we will see good and sat
isfactory results. To obtain these, let the
experience of the past guide us in our
plans and let our efforts be not of spas
mode nature but constant and deter
mined, otherwise our roads will remain
largely as they are today.
| would like to offer few suggestions
looking toward different policy in road
management and in offering them | do
not wish to be regarded as criticising our
road officials as | believe in their hon
esty of purpose and their endeavors to do
the best they could with what they have
had to do with. | believe our stone
crushing plant should be moved to the
westerly part of the town, nearer to the
source of good road material, thus max
ing the plant available not only for the
western part of the town but for the
easterly part as well, for the stone or
screened gravel can be transported as
well after crushing as before. Good
gravel for Western avenue is not avail
able and if it were it would not be
economy to use it while we have crush
ing plant lying idle. As fast as a section
of the avenue becomes worn or out of re-
pair it should be surfaced with crushed
stone in thorough manner and this prac-
tice should be continued until the entire
avenue is improved, which would not
take long. The avenue should first be
well surveyed and uniform grade es-
tablished and placed upon record; then
as each section is improved let it be built
exactly to the established grade to the
end that when the last section has been
improved it would present a completed
whole without any guesswork about it..
l believe that Elliot street should be
hard surface, then when more mud
appears remove it again and continue to
remove mud until the sub-grade of the
street is as far below the level of the
sidewalk as it ought to be. After estab-
fishing a uniform grade, surface it with
trap-rock macadam. Such an improve
ment would be true economy in every
sense. What is true of Elliot street APP
plies equally to Flat, South Main, High,
Oak and Canal streets as well as many
others; in short, believe that when any
street has become badly worn out repairs
of permanent character should be made
| that will ensure economy as well as salts
] faction to all concerned. / believe that