Arizona republican., 1911-06-02
Commission Advocates New
 Lighting System
PHOENIX, CITY BEAUTIFUL
Grade Monuments Will Be Moved from Center of Streets Commission to Meet This Afternoon With Judge Kibbey.

1T the paving commission succeeds
 in. carrying out plan placed before
 the members for consideration yes
 terday by Eugene Hackett. the chair
 man, Phoenix will have decorative
 light standards installed on Wash
 ington street and Central avenue, and
 will be numbered among the best
 lighted cities of the United States.
 Believing that the citizens should
 not stop with the paving MT Hackett
 declared that the present year ought
 To be memorable for the number and
 extent Of necessary improvements
 carried out and he gave it as his
 opinion that a question of such impOr-
 tance to the city as the installation
 of street lights ought to receive i'm
 mediate attention, this particularly on account of the fact that special pro-
 vision for the standards could be made with little additional expense in carrying out the plans for paving.
 The business men of Washington and Center streets have expressed a wish to see Phoenix in possession of all the attractive features that have brought fame to the coast cities. Los Angeles is scarcely more famous for any other one thing than for the brilliant lights on Broadway, Spring Main and other streets. Decorative standards have been used to such ad- vantage that the city has been re- ferred to in nearly every technical magazine of any importance as one of the best lighted cities in the world There is no reason. says Chairman Hackett, why Phoenix should not have the same prominence as a city of brilliant lights.
 As the matter was dis cussel by tiie commission, the money to cover the cost of installation will be subscribed by the tenants of the buildings on Washington and Center streets and by the property owners, many of whom have declared their willingness to contribute The entire cost of buy ing and installing the standards would be approximately s1.2O per front foot. l an expense which could easily be borne by the men whose property | would be improved and whose business | would be benefited by the addi- | tional lights before their stores.
 It was proposed yesterday that the | standards be placed on Washington | street from Fourth street to Fourth i avenue, and on Central avenue from | the Santa Fe depot to Monroe The | commission requested F. H. Ensign of | the Pacific Gas & Electric company | to draw plans and specifications for | the proposed lighting system. It is | probable that there will be eight | standards to the block, four on each side. similar to the lights placed | before the National Bank of Arizona building. The commission is in clined to favor the four-light standard of decorative iron.
 Measures will be taken to ascer- tain the views of the majority of the business men of the city on the question of the proposed lighting sys- tenn, and it is hoped by the commits sion that there will be little difficulty in securing a sufficient subscription to authorize the work. The current will be brought to the lamps in con- duits placed under the pavement, or curb. It is the opinion of Mir Hackett and other members of the commission that the installation of the standards will have an influence to increase the reputation of Phoenix as a live busi- ness town and a beautiful place of residence only second to the benefits derived from the new pavement.
 Property owners streets not in- cluded in the original plans for paving having expressed a desire to have their streets improved by bitulithic. the commission yesterday considered employing ~an engineer to prepare plans and specifications for the work on the blocks which may be paved It is hoped that the plans for the ad- ditional paving will be ready and approved before the Barber Paving company begins work on the nineteen blocks for which the contract was given SO the work on the other streets may be undertaken at the same time.
 It was also decided to remove the grade monuments on the streets to be paved from the center of the street to the curb. in accordance 1 with the plan followed by engineers in other cities where heavy traffic makes it advisable to have the monuments on the side and not in the center of the street
 The commission and the business men of-the city expect to see the pay ing completed and the new light standards installed before the opening of the next territorial fair. and every possible impetus will be given the work to make its completion possible within the intervening time. The Pa cific Gas & Electric company will begin in the early part of next week to do all the work to their mains and gas pipes which will be necessary to prepare for the beginning of active work. and it is possible that the Phoenix Street Railway company will have men at work on Washington street next week lowering the tracks to the proper grade. Ii is Superinten- dents Mitchelrs intention to have the