The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-07-08
ENGINEER TALKED
ON CITY BUILDING
Some Community Problems Consider.
ed In His Address Before the
Rotary Club

In speaking before the Rotarians
on Tuesday, City Engineer Young
said IN part:
The average city evolves from a
village to a town, to small city and
then 10 such limits as its citizenship
Is satisfied with. 1t results is an up-
connected street system with grades
impracticable for sewers, and II many
eases damages abutting property by
its being above or below abutting
property and sewers not low enough
10 provide sufficient fall from the
cellar 70 the sewer IN the street. there
By necessitating enlarged or cross
sewers
@Relief from above Is formed oy
establishing grades at all corners Of
street intersections, and by an orii-
nance refusing the recording Of plats
and deeds until plats are approved by
the municipal authorities after being
Iehecked by the city engineer
The purposes of a city street are
twofold First: To afford light. air
and access to abutting property. Sec
old: To provide accommodation for
such traffic as may pass thru the
street, but the origin and destination
OF which may be elsewhere, the route
being that of least resistance in case
Of business traffic and that which is
most agreeable IN case of pleasure
traffic The first depends on height of
buildings and the proportion Of the
lots that may be covered. The greater
the amount given TO streets, the more
expensive is the remaining land. Very
narrow streets mean lack Of light and
air, unsanitary conditions and traffic
congestion Unnecessarily wide
streets mean a serious burden upon
the abutting land, the price Of which
must include the value Of that taken
for streets, greater expense TO the
los owner for street improvement,
and additional expense to the city for
maintenance and cleaning
important as are the large parks
2Ild the parkways Of city, these
which mean most to the greatest num-
Der are the smaller neighborhood
parks, one of which should be within
easy walking distance of every part
OF the city.
Whether the parks be large or
small, it viii be advantageous 70 ac-
quire them at as early a date as pos
sible and before the subdivision into
lots. By purchasing them as acreage
property the park may be so laid out
as to leave few highly desirable
building sites whose value is enhanc-
ed by the park, and the receipts from
the sale of these sites will go long
way toward paying for the park
'tThe fixing of street grades is one
OF the most important functions Of
municipal engineering since the grade
system of the streets is the founda-
tion of all municipal engineering
matters The grades should be es-
taElished before the sewer system is
planned, and if established before the
property is improved the problem is
simple since they may be laid chiefly
with reference TO obtaining desirable
gradients for the street within proper
limits of cost. But when buildings
have been erected, sidewalks con-
structed, trees planted. it is frequent
| ~ extremely difficult The determi-
nation of the proper grade of street
depends generally upon the following:
Drainage, cost of earthwork, accom-
lmodation of traffic, effect on abutting
property, general appearance of the
street.
''The streets are the natural drain
age channels of the city. Lots must
drain into them and the house must
Drain into the sewers placed in the
streets With no storm sewers. the
grade is doubly important as the gut
ters must carry away the water.
Cost fearthwork and accommo-