Evening journal., 1917-09-29
Peoples Column
Want Sixteenth Street
Retained ON CITY MAP
To the Editor Of THE EVENING

To the Editor Of THE EVENING
JOURNAL:
Sir-Two men, estimable citizens,
have asked that Sixteenth street, be
tween Greenhill and Brinckle avenues,
be removed from the city map and the
street thereby removed from any pos
sibility of being opened In the future.
Twenty-f0ur property owners. resi-
dents and title holders on Sixteenth
street. between Union street and Rising
sun Lane, have petiiioneG and protest
ed against the removal Of this highway
or legally potential highway. and they
have further pctitioncd that this street
will be opened and brought 90 a grade.
We have been told that the matter
has gone out Of the hands Of the street
/ and Sewer Department, and is now i'm
the courts There Is left 10 us, IL would
appear no recourse only to the higher
court of public opinion. We ask peo-
| pie jealous Of its rights TO sympathizc
with us when our rights and their
rights are threatened.
We have no quarrel with the men
who have asked for this change in the
city map. We make a plea for Justice.
We appeal 10 the american sense Of
fair play.
The majority Of us have been I'm pos
/ session of the properties affected ever
since the Highlands district was open
/ ed, and long before taken in the city
I'VE bought with the distinct under
standing that some day this street
would be opened. We lived as patient
/ ly as we could awaiting the time when
/ our somewhat tardy city authorities
would give ms that egress and ingress
which we thought would come some
time.
In estimating the value Of our prop
erty We have always contemplated tho
possibility OF the opening OF Sixteenth
street. We placed a value on this pos
sible opening, and we counted this
possibility as an asset.
We have no doubt that the closing
Of that street would add value to those
who have asked for the condemnation,
but will there be no consideration for
those who VIII lose value2
But. Mr. Editor. We are not m@sur-
ing our complaint by dollars and cents.
There are sentimental reasons which
we insist should not be done violence.
We property owners have rights here
/ which we insist il is an outrage TO
ignore, and which It is something more
than an outrage to treat with con-
tempt.
We should always be very jealous
about the closing Of streets. and this
fact has VIII emphasis in the district
we arc discussing at this moment. The
western and nor Invest I'm sections Of
the city are being NOR and more cut
Off from Wilmington. In the Highlands
section YOU can 90 only by .~'ennsyl-
vania avenue. and the logic of the con-
ditions there urgently demand that Six
tecnth street lie opened as soon as
possible.
President Sparks. Of the Street and
Sewer Department denied our petition
or discouraged it. lie said that IL could
/, not be done because of the heavy grade
. He said it would cost too much and
would be dangerous and put adjoining
properties down in a ditch
! We will not deny that the grading
viii cost something. but the cost should
not be excessive. We do deny That On,
J grade will be high as Wilmington
! grades go. There will be- but nth,
, difference between the grade and that
/ OF Seventeenth street which latter
street we are sure even Mr.. Sparks
r would not insist has q prohibitive OF
= even a difficult grade. We deny also