Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-09-17
CROSSING ELIMINATION AM CITY PLAN

Evening News has tried to impress upon the
people the fact that big things are about to
rome to pass in this vicinity and it is the duty of
the city to be ready to meet them; to study its
own requirements and be prepared to show what
Il wants and why, backed by reasons that can
not be refuted.
Among the things referred to has been the
new state highway bridge, the approach to
which on the north shore is Of utmost impor-
lance to Perth Amboy. 1t was not until the
state highway engineers came here and virtual
ly picked out the site themselves. utterly ignor-
ing the city, that any notice was taken of the
matter at all by Perth Amboy. Yet this bridge
and its approach In this city will play an i'm
portant part in our development. 1t is going to
be a three million dollar structure, being, per-
haps, the greatest bridge in the state, yet Perth
Amboy has thus far shown only a perfunctory
interest in it.
TT the CITY had a comprehensive plan drawn
I'D by an expert in this line this bridge would
be made to fit in with the general scheme OF
municipal development. It would become a part
of the whole scheme for making Perth Amboy a
great metropolis.
Then, again, we have the port development
project. Perth Amboy has talked about TINS
matter for a century or more, but nothing mas
been done. There is not even a definite plan
today as to what is best for the city. some peo-
ple thing one thing. some another. The TACT is'
,ue are no nearer a definite program for harbor
mnrovement than we were when the town was
first laid out.
But the world moves and when a city is loca-
ted right in the midst of things, as is Perth
Amboy. the outside world is not going to stano
still and let matters drift even though the resi-
dents of the city are Indifferent. Improvement
are going right ahead in spite of us and If we
are not prepared to look after our interests and
see that we get all that is coming to us it is our
own fault.
IF Perth Amboy has a definite city plan it
could go to the Port of New York Authority
which is planning our harbor development in
optic of us, and say what this city's plans are Tor
The development of the water front. We could
show where we propose to have our municlpal
riers. where our railroad sidings are to be and
what is to be our warehouse section Here
would be our Industrial district with all the
conveniences that industries require and there
would be our residential sections and our bust
ness sections.
The city. fortified by the city plan, would be
in a position to work with the port authority
intelligently instead of being all over the lot
With nothing definitely settled and everything up
in the air, so to speak.
And now we have the matter of the elimina-
ton of the grade crossings suddenly thrust upon
us. The question has been hanging hre ior d
long time and it was generally supposed tna' IL
would sleep for several years yet. But at the last
~hearing before the Public Utility commission
the attorney for the Central railroad sprung d
surprise by asking for an adjournment penang
a conference between the city and the railroad
oN6cials regarding the elimination of the cross
ings altogether.
Is the city ready for this sudden turn OF at-
fairs? We find the property owners west OF the
railroad already up In arms against track ele-
walton. There has always been a difference or
oninion on this subject. The Evening News has
directed attention to the question repeatedly
,,s;ns II as one of the arguments in favor of a
city plan. An expert city planner would have
taken this most important subject under Sc
rtous consideration and would have decided
whether depression or elevation was for the
best interests of the city as a whole. 1t would
be up to the city, of course, to accept or reJect
such recommendations as the expert would
make, but having mace u STUDY VI "0 "'
he would probably have reasons to present that
would make his position unassailable. LIKEWISE
when the city comes to confer with the raliroao
authorities it would have its plan already drawn
I'D and would be in a position to show the rail-
road exactly what it wanted, rather than have
the railroad submit all the plans, drawn natur-
ally. from their point of view, putting the city
ALWAYS on the defensive.
This matter of grade crossing elimination is
another one of the big problems that is pelhs
forced upon the city without the city being In
the least prepared for it. 1t would be a caiaH-
ity if any of these big projects were permitted 10
go through now only to find, fifteen or twenty
wears hence, that a serious mistake was made
and the city had been greatly handicapped.
But the only way to get a line on what VIII De
the requirements of the city twenty or ntty
wears hence is to make a detailed study of the
city's development now and lay out a plan ior
growing that will cover the next twenty-five or
fifty years. Then whatever we do now VIII De d
direct part of the whole development.
What is Perth Amboy going to do about an
these things? All around us we see cities tha'
have grown much larger than Perth Ampoy'
realizing their mistake of twenty-five years age
and now are face to face with enormous ex-
pense undoing what was done at that time with
out any plan for the future.