Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-09-07

| thereln as to the development of the
Market Square terminal.
Big Problems
Being familiar with your general
situation through this former re-
port, / have confined myself herein
largely to the more important prob
lens confronting you at the present
time, such as the Capitol Square Ex-
tension Plan Third street re-routing,
Paxton street grade separation, Steel
ton traffic, etc.
Especially important is the re-
arrangement of your transit facili-
ties resulting from the new Capitol
Park Extension plan by MesSrs.
Drummer and Manning. But unfor-
tunately. it has developed that the
detail plans for this Capitol Park
Extension have been in more or less
tentative shape, so that it has been
impossible for me to reach definite
and final conclusions as TO the best
plan for your company to follow in
adjusting its railway facilities to the
new Capitol Park plan.
Capitol Extension Streets
So far as these final data are
available, 1 have considered the new
Capitol Park Plan with reference to
the transportation problem OF the
city as a whole, and have come to
the conclusion that there are so
many important related questions
that are left unsettled, that it will
be useless for me to attempt to
work out any extensive transit i'm
provement until some of these mat
ters are decided by the proper au-
thorities. The more important mat
ters are briefly noted below:
l. The city ordinances of Sep
tember IS, 1911, require mot less
than two streets for public highways
running northwardly and south
wardly, and one eastwardly and
westwardly through the lands here
inbefore described and proposed to
be taken for the extension of said
Capitol Park"
Under the proposed plan, the new
street at the easterly edge OF the
property cannot properly be consid-
cred as street through the Park,
any more than Third street at the
westerly edge; leaving only one
through street, viz, the new East
Aberdeen street.
2. The abandonment OF Fourth
street sacrifices the only through
thoroughfare parallel to the north
south axis Of city and penetrating
the business district. The diagram
map figure "A" attached hereto IL
Illustrates this point. Second street
is now hopel lessly blocked at the east
end by railroad facilities, and will
continue to be unless the Paxton
street grade separation is built
Third street is blocked by the Cum
berland Valley tracks. This leaves
Fourth Mulberry as the one through
north-south. thoroughfare in Harris
burg.
The proposed new East-Aberdeen'
street as planned runs into the
pocket at the Union station. 1t is
inconceivable that such an fmpor-
tant thoroughfare should thus be
permanently blocked.
Fourth Street a Puzzle
8. A depressed open cut for street
cars in the line of Fourth street is
indicated on some of the Capitol
plans, as an alternative, but is not
sponsored by the consultants, and
appears to have been rejected due
to the necessity of storage space un-
der the terrace. In any event, no
provision appears to have been made
for approaches to this depressed cut
on the Capitol Park grounds, but
rather that the approaches would
have to be provided in the city
streets outside of the Capitol Park
grounds which would be quite i'm
practicable at the south, if not at
the north end. The difficulties of
approach would be, increased If a
tunnel were considered across the
park, the cost of which would only
increase the improbability of its con-
struction.
4. A large amount of city street
extension and widening work is as
Sumed in the Capitol Park plan.
This to carry out the scheme prop
erly, Walnut street is shown to be
widened to the river, likewise North
street and Third street, all to be
over one hundred feet wide. The
widening of East and Aberdeen
streets involves extremely expensive
damages. Whether the city will be
called upon to carry the expense of
these collateral park improvements
or the expense will be divided be-
tween the city and the state, woud
seem to be a vital consideration in
the consummation of the Capitol
Park plan as 1t affects the entire
community.
New Union Station
5. A new Union station location
north of the present site appears to
have so many favorable aspects as
TO suggest the necessity of a joint
consideration of station, park and
street plan before the park plan is
finally settled upon. In its present
location, the Union station is ex-
tremely cramped. At Walnut street
there are unquestionable advantages,
not the least of which is that the
upper level concourse for the station
could be co-ordinated with that of a
viaduct approach, the floor elevation
reduced to a minimum, the length
and grade of the viaduct approach
reduced together with the land re-
Quired therefor. Thus instead of
the Walnut street viaduct hopelessly
encroaching upon the Capitol Park
as originally considered, the con-
course approach grade above men,