Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-12-31
Tomorrow. New Years day. the EVENING
NEWS will not be published.
ABANDONING STREETS WITHOUT PLAN.


While it may turn out to be for the best
interest of the city to vacate the street that the
aldermen have Just turned over to the Barber
Asphalt Paving Company in order that that con-
Germ can enlarge It's plant. only the future can
really decide. The time may come when 10
have a street through the section that has Just
been vacated would be just the thing most need
Cd for the proper development of that partic-
ular locality. At the present time 1t looks az IL
the aldermen had acted for the best interest OF
the city, but, at best, 1t is only guess work
The aldermen took q chance. They had to act
blindly.
1t would have been different IL there had been
a city plan to go by. A city plan would cover
every section of the city. Every foot OF terri
tory within the city limits-and for. some dis
lance outside the city. for that matter-would
have been gone over by an expert city planning
engineer who would have made a study of the
city from every point of view and consulted the
leading local authorities as to general condi-
lions. A map of the city would have been drawn
I'D with every street indicated whether 1t had
been formally opened or not, and each section
would have been laid out in zones for this or
that purpose, according to the best interests OF
the development of the city as a whole. The
main arteries of traffic would have been Marked
even though they may be but little travelled now.
They would be indicated as main arteries be-
cause II the plan were carried out developments
in certain sections would be bound to make
them arteries. II this particular street that the
aldermen have just abandoned would eventually
have become of considerable importance to the
public at any time in the future the plan would
so indicate and the aldermen would have re-
fused to vacate it regardless of what the i'm
mediate benefits might be.
It is this blind way of doing things that has
caused American cities to be built In such a
lop-sided and haphazard manner. Everybody
h living in the present leaving the future gen
~srations to take care of themselves the best way
they can. The result IL that those in charge of
the city twenty-five or nifty years hence may
have to spend millions of dollars undoing much
Of the work that those now In charge OF the
city have done.
BY all means let's have a city plan, complete
in every detail so that when such a proposition
as has Just been put up to the aldermen comes
up again-and there will be many of hem the
city officials can act with full knowledge OF
what they are doing instead of taking a long
chance on piling up trouble for their successors
in years to come.
The abandonment Of the street In the west
ern section of the city for the benefit of the Bar
Der Asphalt Paving Company in order that they
may construct a million dollar plant her. giving
employment to a large number of mon. may be
the wisest thing to do. From the present cut
look it would appear that it is. Wi-h no more
definite idea of what the future of that partic-
ular section is going 20 !e than we now hav,
before us there is no ground for finding fault
with the aldermen fo- what they have done; In
fact. the iaclination IS to commend them.
The best we can do 1t to hope that no mistake
has been made. Yet, such things cannot be
acted upon intelligently without a plan. Taking
such a chance is no way to run a city. We must
build for the future as well as for the present
and in order to do that there must be a definite
plan Systematically carried out In every detail.
Only in that way can we hope to Develop the
great metropolis that we all expect Perth Am
boy to become.