The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-06-25
'REPAvE BROAD"
IS SLOGAN NOW
Better Lights Assured, Public
Spirited Men Turn Their At
tention to Streets Surface.
WOULD COST ABOUT $4,000
Scheme is Kept Alive and Pull
sating and is Quite the Most
Vital Subject.

! Now that better Broad street lights
are Il surety. there Is a general move
/ ment on the part of all public-spirit-
! ed citizens to carry the movement
further and repave Broad street that
|. 1t may be as smooth as it will soon
/ be light.
| Keep the good work up" Is the
! general slogan, particularly among the
more prominent business men, and
| those who are most Interested In
Infringing about a Greater Richmond
{ Thus far the chief opposition to the
scheme of repaving Broad street,
(which Mr.. Morgan Mills has estimated
,can be done for about $4,000, is
based on the fact that council has
,well-nigh exhausted its budget for
1.-THE present year.
/ According to Mayor Richardson
/ this fact, while slight drawback.
fshould not be regarded as a positive
|tcheck. He says II would be simple
fmatter for the finance committee to
lifioat a loan of $40, 600, which sum
Z would be sufficient to carry on the
/, work until next years budget can be
!, made up, Ii need be. the mayor de-
4 ciares, the finance committee MEM
( ptfS Cpuid pFptdBiS pplipA tiat
| tire $4,000 and repay the loan next
| year.
City Needs 1t.
! And surely there IL every reason
| why Broad street should be repaved.
| In many cities of the South even
| where the population Is far less than
| that of Richmond. the chief business
| thoroughfare is paved with asphalt or
some other smooth substance. At any
Ill ~ -
| blocks which are inseperabie from
! noise have been done away with.
| From a standpoint OF beauty. the
| need of repaving Richmond's chief
| business boulevard is unquestioned.
| The plans presented to council by Mr.
| Mills arrange for the elevation OF the
street car tracks and setting them
/ in a grassy parking. This alone would
make the street more pleasing from
an aesthetic standpoint, while the re-
paving of the street would actually
| Increase real estate values. not to
mention the favorable impression 1t
. would create on the tourist, thereby
meaning an advertisement which
might result In many families. good
worthy settlers. choosing Richmoho
as the best place In which to MAKE
their homes.
ON the whole. there can be no prop
osition TO improve Broad street whlch
should not be enthusiastically well
coined by every resident of Rich
mond. for in the END every resioent
will be benefited,
The merchants along the thorough
fare in question are more imam WIN
ing to do their part. some Few Oh
1hem have objected to the recent pro-
posal to force them TO remove tneiI
show cases from the sidewalks. out
such objections have been greatly IN
( the minority
should Apply to All.
A goodIy proportion of the mer-
I chants have expressed the opinion
I that 1t is not fair to force them 70
remove show cases. while those To-
4 Gated further UP the street are hot
I affected They think the rule. II en-
\ forced, should apply to all
/ If no exceptions are made, how
ever. they are willing to abide by
the terms of the resolution cheerfuliy'
even though so doing ehtaiis eer'aih
large financial loss.
'srhe show cases are the best draw
ing cards we have" said one promi-
nent merchant. But ! suppose II Is
as fair for one as II Is for another.
Besides. 1t is anything and everything
to have "A better Broad street. we
merchants owe that much to our pa
irons and to the city as a whole
/ II sincerely hope the project TO
repaye the street will be put through
and that work will be started In
hurry" he continued.
such work Is far more important
even than better lighting facilities
/ eat present. passing wagons make
SO much noise that II is practically
impossible for one using the tcie~
phone to hear or make himself I'M
/ derstood,
Then. too. the blocks which COM
I prise the present surface are not near
Nv so clean as asphalt would be. when
II rains water forms in little pools
between the blocks, and Is spiashed
over pedestrians by some wagon or
carriage None of this would be so
II the street were repaved.
Not Luxury, But Necessity.
con the whole. the person who fs
opposed to repaving Broad street and
to improving 1t in every possible way
IL opposed to a better Richmond as
I a whole. and the city should nave no
place for such
THE whole thing has been placed
before council. Let the members
show that they have the best inter-
ests of the community at heart by
getting Sasy. and hurrying up the
starting OF the actual work"
''Betfer Broad street Is not merely
a luxury. 1t Is necessity"
|