Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-01-20
SYSTEM is URGED
in STREET PAVING
Improvement Where There Has
Been None and Constant
Care Suggested.

There is need of system in the
paving operations in Rock Island"
said an extensive taxpayer in CONVEX
sation with an Argus representative,
relative to the work being planned for
the coming year; need of system in
the kind Of pavement, need of system
in the streets to be paved and the
streets to be repaved and need of sys-
TEN in the care of the streets after
they are paved. Rock Island did a lot
Of necessary repaving last season.
Second avenue and Twentieth street
needed new pavement, so did Fourth
avenue; so did Twenty-fourth street,
and so did Nineteenth street Burton
the latter street it did not go far
enough. Look at the disgraceful hole
that was left north of Second avenue,
right in the center of the city.
1T may be that the city may over
reach itself in the matter of repaving,
but where new paving is put in, it
should be of a new kind, it seems to
me, and l expect to pay my share of
the repaving now contemplated But
it does appear to me that there is at
the present time more need for paw
ing where there never has been any
than in some of the streets where re-
paving is planned. l do not include
Third avenue, and some other promi-
nent business streets perhaps where
tie old pavement is worn to the point
of being irreparable, but l do think
some system of connecting up is abso-
lutely necessary. \ certain dis
trict should be mapped out
and every street and avenue
that has been overlooked so far
should be taken in hand and paved
this year. Take the avenues, for in
stance, from, say Twelfth to Twenty
fourth street, going back at least
L blocks. There is Fifth ave
nue. from Nineteenth to Twenty
third, that has been neglected
year after year since paving was in.
augurated. The city has gone around
it and gone beyond it, and today it re-
mains as unsightly as ever, and it is
hardly a stones throw from the bust
ness section Why this discrimina-
ticn? There must be a niger in the
fence there somewhere. Then there
are sections of Sixth avenue, of Eighth
avenue, and the entire stretch of
Ninth avenue and of Eleventh avenue
that it is understood are to receive at
tention this year. In addition to these
the more the city does in the line of
improving the streets that run out to
the city limits the better.
The system question, as | see 1t,
however, should apply with equal force
u the care of the pavement after it is
laid The up-keep is as necessary as
rev pavement. 1t is in this respect
that Rock Island has been shamefully
negligent | am told that well known
retired contractor once made a propo-
sition to the council that he would for
nominal consideration allowed each
year enter into a bonded contract to
keep the entire pavement in Rock Is
land in a satisfactory condition of re-
pair That would seem to be good
. inv estment. The retired contractor is
experienced, is honest and has pride
in the city and if such a contract were
entered into the city would save con
siderable money in the long run be-
sides having its improved streets al
ways in an attractive and passable con
dition.
The asphalt pavement that was put
down last season, and l hope there
Will be more of it the coming years
especially where there is TO be repay
inc will need attention after a while
. As soon as a crack or a break occurs
il should be Immediately repaired
Otherwise it will soon go to ruin il
long stretches and then people viii
wonder why it is necessary TO repave
- often. A stitch in time is a very
good rule as applied to streets as wei
az the other necessary things of life
A few new bricks here and there, &
little careful patching where there are
depressions, and Rock Islands streets
and avenues will present a much bet
ter appearance and there will be les!
occasion to repaving them.
a little system is what Rock Island
leeds in the matter of new improve
ylaptc and tho rare 0f tha old -