The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-09-14
SHOULD EXTEND CANNON AND ELM STREETS TO WATERFRONT,
 IS SUGGESTION OF ARCHITECT
Joseph w. Northrop Believes Real Estate Values and City's Architecture Would Be En- hanced and Congestion Re- HeVed.

Asserting that dead-end streets in the center of the city are an absurdity, and that Cannon and Elm streets should be extended to Water street Joseph A. Northrop, architect, has ad- vanced a plan for the relief of con- gestion in the center of the city.
 MT. Northrop believes that not only will congestion be lessened, but, real estate values and appearances will be improved. He also advocates the re- moval of the pier that blocks the ap- proach to the Stratford avenue bridge r The ideas brought forward by Mr. Northrop follow:
 Briefly the plan is to extend Can non street and Elm street to Water street. This will accomplish three re- suits:
 First: It will relieve congestion and greatly help circulation; which is |<he one thing that Bridgeport most needs in this part, and will need it a great deal more as the city grows.
 Secondly: It will largely increase the taxable property in this section, and this increase will be~enhanced in the future.
 Thirdly: It will add very much to the beauty of the center of Bridge
 One trolley track would be removed from Fairfield avenue, and one track run through Cannon street, the cars
 
 each street.
 "The plan will develop many extra feet of most valuable central property and the assessed benefits for these changes could reasonably be expected to more than cover the entire cost of the operations, providing the interests of the city were properly protected as they should be.
 "The new buildings which would be erected on these new streets would be modern, up=to-date structures, and would surely add very much to Bridge ports downtown architecture. In fact, believe that Cannon street from Main street to Water street would be one of the best streets in the city for mercantile architecture.
 z rtWhen the City Flaming Comnis- sion issued it's report and map show ing the approaches to the bridge, I drew my pencil through the blocks extending Cannon and Elm streets to Water street, asI have above indicat- ed; and if any one will do this, the logic of the situation will at once ap- pear. Dead end streets in the center of 8 city are an absurdity.
 Having done this, the, next thing to improve the circulation at the bridge, which is now in the middle of the street, and which could easily be removed using a truss bridge over head construction. No doubt the rail- road would meet the city in a fair way If the matter were put up to them in. a forcible manner
 ( These changes would greatly help the circulation in the central part of the city in the direction of east and west. ~
 Then if Housatonic avenue were developed. as it should be, this would improve the circulation north and south. Housatonic avenue is a natur- al main line of traffic from north to Ar. oped to it's utmost capacty. looking to the future.
 T believe that these ideas for de- veloping the center, of. Bridgeport are practical and can be carried out with out too much expense Why should not the city get busy and do some thing along these lines %
 JOSEPH ". NORTHROP.