Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-02-01
PLEADSFOR WIDE
THOROUGH ARES
Luckie Would Create Commits
sion to Govern Opening of
New Streets and Roads.

f. T. Luckie. member of the real es-
tate firm of Holmes & Luckie, has a
mania for wide streets in the city and
wide roads in the county. He was in
strumental in having the property own
ers sign up to widen the Roswell road
between Buckhead and the Plaster
Bridge and Roswell road intersection,
and he has always been willing to give
20 or so feet Of his country property to
insure the building Of good road Mr.
Luckie advocates the establishment Of
a public, service board to condemn
property for streets and roads and to
supervise the manner in which thor
oughfares shall be cut
THE city OF Atlanta and the county
OF Fulton are being put to lasting in
convenience in their short sighted poll
icy OF building roads" declared Mr..
Luckie today. land unless something is
done at once a great deal Of needless
expense will be incurred.
Once Open, Forever Open.
As a general proposition when a
street Is once opened, it stays open
forever. How many streets can you re-
call that, once open to traffic, have been
closed up again? Any one taking a
step that would affect their business
career for a lifetime would take plenty
OF time TO decide. and give the matter
serious thought. How much more Sc
rious, then. is the matter OF opening up
new streets or roads which AFFECT the
comfort and convenience OF whole
towns, cities or counties, not only for
the span of a life. but for hundreds of
years to comet
This should no longer be left to the
misguided enthusiasm of the individual
owner or the real estate promoter,
whose sole ambition is TO get the great
est number OF lots from a given number
Of acres.
'"The usual method OF laying out a
new street is for Mr.. A, who owns a
few acres in the suburbs, to employ a
surveyor TO plat his acres into lots, and
in order to get more lots the new street
is given a width of 80 feet. Mr.. b.
drops down 20 or 90 feet from this
street, and having more land than Mr.
A. surveys his street 40 feet wide. and
runs in an altogether different direction
from the way tho street was started,
''Mr. c., who owns the next tract
only makes a bad street worse. and
finally this new street strays UP an al
ley and becomes worse than useless 70
the public for whose benefit streets are
supposed to be maintained
Haphazard System.
"The result OF such haphazard work
is that the map of Fulton county and
Atlanta resembles a veritable Chinese
puzzle. This should be changed, and
the opening OF new streets and roads
should be placed in the hands of
board competent to lay out streets that
lead to some objective points with
uniform width and proper grade.
The minimum width should be so
feet, and If a residential street, should
be provided with shade trees at the
curb.
The city plan. which is being agi-
tated at present, will do much to i'm
prove such conditions, but fits scope
should be extended so as 10 cover the
whole county. because new streets are
nearly always opened up before the
land is taken into the city,
Peachtree street shows how costly
IL becomes TO widen a street after the
lapse OF years. A strip Only ten feet
wide and short block long viii cost
the adjoining owners $50, 900. or course
other streets are not TO be compared TO
Peachtree at this point, but there
should be a minimum width establish
cd for all new streets sufficient TO car
rv the acreage traffic.
II should like TO see board sp-
pointed with power 10 condemn, and
about 100000 placed in their hands,
tho whole sum TO be spent widening and
Strengthening the city's streets and the
county's roads"