The Washington times., 1914-03-25
ASK MORE LIGHTS ON
FOURTEENTH STREET
Columbia Heights Citizens Say
Darkness Has Caused Two
Deaths in Two Years.

Carrying out plans decided upon al
their last regular meeting. members OF
the Columbia Heights Citizens Asso'
citation today began an active campaign
for better lights on upper Fourteenth
street-"Washington' Harlem
Pointing out that Fourteenth street
passing through one of the best resi-
Dental sections of the city. with a
population of 5000. is now one of the
important business streets of the city,
members of the association assert that
it is also one of the poorest lighted
thoroughfares in the District.
Resolution For Lights.
At the meeting of the association, a
resolution introduced by ]. Clinton
Hiatt, calling upon the Commissioners
10 install an adequate lighting system
on Fourteenth street. was unanimously
adopted, and a committee was ap-
pointed to carry out the plans for a
campaign for better street lights.
Copies of the resolution have been for
warded to the Commissioners by George
ton.
Several traffic accidents, two of which
have resulted fatally. have occurred In
Fourteenth street in the last two wears.
and according to officers Of tine street
Safety Association, these accidents
might all have been prevented had the
street been properly lighted. The two
fatal accidents occurred in the vicinity
OF Spring road, one of the poorest
lighted sections of Fourteenth street.
Street Is Crowded.
From Florida avenue to Spring road
thousands of vehicles traverse the
street every night, while in some parts
Fourteenth street is crowded with
pedestrians from early in the evening
until IL o'clock.
In the resolution adopted by the
Columbia Heights Association special
attention was called to the inadequate
lighting system at the intersection Of
such important thoroughfares as Bel
mont. Chaplin, Clifton, Euclid. Girard,
Harvard. and Irving streets. anq Co
lumbia, Park, and Spring roads. From
Park road to Spring road there are no
electric lights.
There are only twenty-eight gas
lights from Park road to Spring road.
street to Perry place. three blocks,
there are no gas lights or any other
kind on the west side of Fourteenth
street. Between Perry place and
spring road there are three gas lamps
on the west side, but they are some
distance south of Spring road, where
il is very dark and where several
accidents have occurred
Road In Deep Valley.
AT Spring road there is a sharp in
cline in both directions, leaving Spring
road at the bottom of a valley There
are no lights at this dangerous point
AT Spring road the automobile
speed limit is changed from twelve to
twenty miles an hour, and every sum
mer night there is a constant pro-
cession of automobiles going in both
directions in Fourteenth street until
long after midnight"
Within the last few years, the sec
lion of the city embraced in the Co
iumbia Heights territory virtually has
become a city within city 1t Is one
Of the most densely settled sections
of the District, the population. as
shown by the last police census being
5000. Conversion of Fourteenth
street from a residential to an i'm
portant business thoroughfare is the
natural result of the rapid growth o1
his section.
In place of a few small stores &c
supply a neighborhood trade few
years ago many large and substantis
business establishments are now To-
Gated on Fourteenth street extended
Much of the business is done at night
and il is claimed by members of the
citizens association that after
o'clock upper Fourteenth street is
now one OF the city's leading business
streets. Because of this, II for nc
other ason, il is contended that
Fourteenth street should be given 4
lighting system AS good as that or
other business streets where the traf-
fi- is heavy at night