The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-04-08
TRACK FIGHT NOW
BEFORE THE BOARD
Indications Are Commission
ers Oppose the Traction
Company's Plans.

As the Terre Haute. Indianapolis
and Eastern Fraction company has
been in the habit of either evadins
agreements with the county officials
or complying with them after much
delay and as much opposition as pos
Sible, the board of county commissions
trS does not seem inclined to approve
vi tn" request OF the company to
change the specifications fer the i'm
pruVemtnt 10 the National road from
West Fifth street 10 the Waynt-Center
township line. aCcordiug to expressions
by the different members OF the board,
Saturday.
The company asks 10 he allowed TO
! place its tracks outside Of the city in
the center Of the highway as far west
as EasthaNen avenue but there has
been a petition filed by landowners
and residents aud the Richmond Home
lelephone company To have the speci-
| lcatlonS changed SO that the tracks
will be laid in the center of the high
way TO the township line These two
| propositions are pcnding before the
| board of county commissioners. The
! latter was presented Saturday by Ed.
ward Il, Matthews. the circulator of
! the petition. which Was signed by
! himself and twenty-five others, Nc
action will be taken hurriedlN by the
| commissioners on either Of the pro
pOSals.
1t is more than likely that remon
STRANGE will now be prepared by those
who oppose placing the tracks in the
! center of the highway and who de
mand that the Improvement be made
under the original specifications which
call for the company's tracks being
laid outside the south curb line.
The company wishes the change
because of the expense it will be put
10 in complying with the original
specifications. The individual peti.
TONERS are, in most cases. residents
or land owners on the south side OF
! the road. and are expecting some day
to plat their farms, or that portion of
them, wlich are adjacent TO the high.
way, believing they will get better
prices if the tracks are in the center
of the highway. than if they should
be located within a few feet of where
the sidewalks to these proposed add.
tons on the south side would be. The
telephone company wishes to avoid
wire troubles by having the tracks
and trolley wires located in the cen
ter of the highway.
City Engineer Charles was before
the commissioners in the capacity as
engineer for the improvement.
cal w
ed by the commissioners, and himself
visited general manager Todd of the
Company, before they reported on the
utility of the Improvement, in order
to obtain the companys views, they
found the company officials anxious
to continue their tracks on the south
side of the road. Manager Todd EN-
phatically told the viewers and the
engineer that such an arrangement
would result in greater safety to the
travelling public. Now, however the
company asks the change in the spe
cficatons. According to an attorney
who was interested in drawing up the
original petition for the improvement
it is doubtful if the commissioners can
change the specifications now since
they adopted the report of the viewers
He had not, however, consulted the
statutes, giving this as an off hand
opinion.
Richard Sedgwick, who will within
a year Or SO plat the Sutton place in
to building lots, advocated before the
board. change in the specifications
which will permit the company to
place its tracks in the center OF the
highway, widen the road to fifty one
or fifty-six feet in stead Of forty-siX,
and construct cement curb and gut
tiers on the south side as well as the
north Unless the company will meet
the expense, he indicated, he was OPP
posed to this proposition.