New Britain herald., 1920-11-24
CENTRAL PARK MAY
 BE CUT DOWN SOON
But Sentiment Saves It From Elimination

nelu III lnS oShOoi lioii ioSs night was plainiyssufficient to indicate that there is q strong public feeling against the the entire elimination of , Central Park in order to relieve the traffic congestion on the west side of Main street. To this end, the board of public works voted to give the pe- titioners ieave to withdraw who had presented resolutions calling for the elimination of all but the monument, and also those who have recommend ed the removal Of the trees on the west side of the park and the elimina- tion of the sidewalk. Instead. the city engineer was instructed to prepare es- inmates for another plan to aid in solving the traffic problem.
 To Cut Down Sidewalk.
 This. known as plan number 4, pro- vides that seven feet be shaved from the sidewalks on both the east and west sides of the park and the cor ners at either end, but cut off and rounded in such a way as to allow more roadway and make the curves less acute To do this it will be nec- essary to remove the old trees that fringe the walks. AS a measure to give temporary relief from the traffic con- gestion 1t was voted to recommend to the council that all automobiles or other vehicular parking be eliminated on the north and west sides of the park.
 31 Favor Plan.
 When the public meeting was call ed in the Grammar school hall there were only about 75 people in attend ance, but these all exhibited a keen interest in the item before them. On a vote taken, 31 favored the layout ex- plained above, while 20 opposed it. On another vote there were but six who favored the absolute elimination of the park. Chairman E. N. Hum phrey with the board of public works commissioners was presentand oth- CTS well known in civic and business affairs were also present.
 After the various plans had been outlined, Howard c. Wilson said he favored plan four, with the removal of part of the sidewalk on the west side of the park. F. H. Afford fla vored cutting off part of the sidewalk on both sides of the park and pairing off the northeast corner. M. c. Le- Witt opposed any change. w. L.. Hatch expressed himself as in favor 
 walks on either side of the park and thus make the highway wider. He also favored cutting away from the north side of the park, as far back as the welcome home sign, and nov ing the trolley tracks back. giving more room for vehicular traffic. He said that personally he would not ob- ject to the entire elimination of the park and thinks it will come eventual ly. but at present it may not be advis- able.
 Kehoe In Opposition.
 Representative Thomas H. Kehoe left no doubt as to where he stood on the matter. He declared that he opposed any plan for the elim- ination of the park, and added that if traffic is congested 1t is because of the parking of the vehicles there and this ought to be stopped. Referring more intimately to the park, MT. Ke- hoe made a plea to save it.
 There is tradition, he said, that the park was deeded to the city for park purposes with the provision that | if the property was ever used for any | other purpose. title would revert to l heirs of the grantors. Whether that | is a fact or not we do not know. he | said. put IL was DelleVe0 Dy Clt1ZenS | of New Britain in days gone by and l there must be some truth to it. About l thirty years ago he recalled, there | was agitation for erecting city | building on the park site, in fact, the | project was 50 far advanced that an | appropriation of $4,000 was made for | sinking fund for the purpose, but { plans were abandoned when the tra- dition he mentioned, was resurrected. Opposed to Tradition.
 Opposed to that tradition, all yfe | have is an opinion from the corpoF | ation counsel, which says nothing ex- l cept that he does not know anything | is unable to find any record of it. l The city should not eliminate the l park or touch it," he said, just be- l cause some automobile owners want
 the space for a free garage"
 l There are thousands of memories ] clustered about Central Park he
 said. but they are attributed to sen- l timent Still,"- he continued. 'it is
 sentiment that prompts the public to
 support the Red Cross, it is senti-
 ment that will make people help the l hospital in the drive next week, it is | sentiment that sent two millions oi | our boys across the water to fight, ii
 is sentiment that prompted the late
 C. B. Erwin to provide the money
 for the monument on the park, and
 it is sentiment that kept the city from |