Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-02-08
MOTORS WOULD
SAVE THE CITY
LARGE AMOUNT.
Cleaning Of Streets and Wearing
Of Pavements Big Item of
Expense,

What the motor truck might an
nually save in Atlanta may be esti-
mated by a comparative study Of fig
ures compiled in Chicago. According
TO Motor Age" one million collars
a year could be saved by the city OF
Chicago on street cleaning alone, II
it's business houses and private citi-
ze1S would substitute motor trucks
for the 10000 horses now USED in that
| city.
on an average. every 100 horses
litter the streets and alleys with one
ton Of refuse during q working day
! Of eight hours. This amounts 10 500
tons day, or 493, 1874 cubic yards in
! a year OF 300 working days, calculat-
| Ing thirty-siX pounds to the cubic
| foot. This is more than so per cent
| OF the total Of 953,S5 cubic yards Of
street sweepings, including leaves
| rubbish and dirt. annually removed
! by the street cleaning department
| The total cost OF cleaning the streets
| and alleys Of the city during 1912 was
| sl,9!G,217, exclusive of the garbage
! and ash removal, weed cutting. etc
! FfftX-one per cent OF this approx
mately is 10000 This is the sum
| actually expended in 1912 to remove
: The dirt and filth directly attributable
! TO the use of horses.
| These are figures deduced from
facts published in reports by the
commissioner OF public works ana
civil service commission OF the city
| of Chicago, recently issued follow
| ing an investigation from April II
to October 10. 1918, made by order of
the City Council
| Horse drawn vehicle traffic Is the
| most important source of street dirt
| and has been given the greatest
weight in the preparation of the
schedules and standards used as
| basis for the estimates of future work
/ and expenditures in street and alley
| cleaning says the report.
Wear the Pavements.
! ASIDE from this, the constant wear
| of the paVements by the horses shoes
| and the iron-tired vehicles" observes
the report. has tendency gradually
! to wear out the surface of the pave
ment which must be removed by the
street sweepers. This source is Of
| special Importance in macadam pave
ments. as it is this material that
forms practically all of the dirt which
is removed from pavements of this
class"
| No attempt was made by the in
vestigators to determine the extent to
| which horses are responsible for dis
| eases in the city or the financial losses
to the community from this source
but 1t ia likely that the aggregate
is much larger than the expense due
to street cleaning. Stables afford the
most common breeding places for
flies, those disseminators of typhoid
and intestinal diseases, while the
dried street nth blown about by the
wind carries all sorts of germs into
| every home, office and factory in the
City.
More than 500, 900 tons of refuse
are produced yearly by the 81, 600
| horses. mules and cows maintained
in Chicago. All OF this has to be
| carted through the streets and con-
siderable quantity is spilled from the
/ wagons to lie in the streets until
! swept up by the street cleaners.
This report, embracing more than
/ 100 printed pages and many elah-
! crate tables of data, is both compre-
| hensive and exhaustive and contains
! much Information OF value. In CON
nection with the investigation, traf-
! lfic census were taken at l,400 street
| intersections, with the result that it
| has been definitely determined that
the density OF horse traffic is the
principal factor which determines the
number and frequency of cleanlngs
which one street should be given
at was found" continues the re-
port, that within the last three years
| the number of motor driven vehicles
, in the central portion of the city has
| increased over so per cent, and that
| the number of one and two horse
| drawn vehicles throughout the city
| has remained practically constant.
| The census on hand of motor car and
street railway traffic has been used
as a factor in determining the mini
mum Cleanings which a street re-
Quires The amount of dirt attribut
| ed directly TO automobiles or street
| railways is inappreCiable
Several important conclusions may
| be drawn from the facts given.
First, that the substitution OF mo-
| tor vehicles for horse drawn vehicles
will reduce the cost of street clean
| ing, lessen The wear of street pave
ments and help materially to decrease
the city death rate.
Second, that use of motor trucks by
| the street cleaning department Will
effect further savings in the cost OF
street cleaning and ash and garbage
disposal
| THIRD, that the elimination OF horses
will preserve street paVements.
Fourth, that requirements Of ma
! cadam pavement by more permanent
pavement will lower the cost of street
| cleaning and maintenance,
Referring to street repairs. the re-
port makes the important observa-
| ton that where the cost of repair
and maintenance ia equal to or great
er than the annual interest cost on
new work. il is more desirable that
new pavements he laid where pos
! sible." The average cost of repairing
and improving So miles of macadam
country roa Is within the city limits
| is estimated At $3.50 mile. This
represents per cent interest on
! Sl2. 500 a mile. Ii would seem to be
| good policy then to substitute perms-
nent Pavement for those macSGam
roads as quickly as possible.
Although removal of dead animals
| Is a source Of some small revenue to
the city. the loss OF the animals is a
| heavy burden ON the owners and
community AT large. During the year
| ended August /. 1918, the contractors
removed 925S dead horses. II those
may be assumed to have been worth
| 500 apiece when they died, largely
as a result OF excessive heat in mid
/