Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-24
Car Line Extensions Will De-
stroy Three of Them.
JERSEY AVENUE CHANGES
Will Be Widened Between H and K
Streets.
COMMISSIONERS IN CHARGE
What They Say Goes, Col. Bromwen
Asserts-Final Decision in
Few Days.

Three small public parks on the line Of
New Jersey avenue will be practically de-
stroyed when the street car trackage ar
rangements authorized by the last Con-
gress are completed. The principal one is
Jersey and Massachusetts avenues and G
street. The proposed extension of the
Capital Traction line will be laid through
the center of that park, necessitating the
removal of the large iron fountain and
reducing the parking space to two small
triangles. That fountain was originally
placed in Mount Vernon Park and was re-
moved when the Public Library was con-
structed. Col. Bromwell. the engineer Of
ficer in charge of public buildings and
grounds, has not yet decided whether he
will place the fountain in another park
or whether he will sell it for old iron.
At any rate it will be put away in stor-
tied next spring.
Two Others Affected.
The two other parks affected by the
proposed car line on New Jersey avenue
are small triangles on the north and
south sides of l street between New Jer
sey avenue and I'd street. Like the Mas
sachusetts avenue circle, these two small
parks are improved with trees. plants
and flowers but are without fountains
The proposed abandonment of these
parks results from the necessity of widen
ing New Jersey avenue between II and
K streets. Both encroach on the line of
the avenue.
New Jersey avenue has width of 100
feet. Of which a considerable part Is park
ing. For most of it's length New Jersey
avenue has sixty-foot roadway, fifteen
foot sidewalks and thirty-five feet of
parking on each side. But that arrange
ment does not obtain between II and K
streets. On that short stretch of two
blocks the roadway is only thirty-two
feet wide with fifteenfoot sidewalks. On
the west side of the avenue the parking
is tifty-eight feet wide, and on the east
side it is forty feet. The District Commits
sioners have decided that the roadway Is
too narrow for two lines Of car tracks.
Although the matter is not finally set
tied, it is understood that they have
decided to increase the width OF the road
thirty-two feet to fifty feet. taking the
additional eighteen feet from the park
ing on the west side of the avenue and
making that parking forty feet to corre-
spond in width with the parking on the
east side The sidewalk on the west side
would simply be moved back eighteen
feet nearer the building line. The road
way would still be ten feet narrower than
the regular roadway, which, as stated, is
sixty feet.
Goodbye to Trees.
In case this arrangement is carried out
1t will involve the abandonment of the
two small public parks referred to and
the transplanting or destruction of a row
of large elm trees on the outer edge of
the west parking between H and
streets. These trees are within the space
required for widening the roadway Of the
avenue. There is a similar row on the
opposite side of the avenue and the trees
are of such size and luxuriant foliage that
they practically meet overhead and form
a green arch for that short and narrow
section of New Jersey avenue. Col.
Bromwell says that Congress has placed
the matter of railroad trackage at and
to the Union station in the hands of the
District Commissioners, with full au-
thority to carry the provisions of the law
into effect If the District Commission
ers decide that the railroad extensions
require changes in the public parks or
the abandonment of one or more of them.
their wishes will be fully respected by his
office