The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1921-12-17
DIRECTOR r. r. DOUGHTY
MAKES SOME SUGGESTIONS
Recites Commentator For Years
Work and Outlines Future Plans.

The Atlantic County Board OIL free
holders held its last meeting of the
year on Wednesday. Director F.. Fra
ley Doughty addressed his fellow
members as follows:
"As you are all aware, Atlantic
County is just now completing a very
strenuous years activity in public i'm
provements which are highly COM
mended by the general public and it
seems opportune for me to make GER
tain suggestions to you at this time.
Our recent successful handling of
big work has resulted largely from CO.
operation and from an orderly, regu-
lar method of financing the work and
this includes the work which was
lone o a year ago in the prepare
ton of our budget and the making of
our appropriations for the year that
has just passed. | earnestly request
that all committees of the Board, de-
string n needing appropriations for
carrying on the various county activi-
ties during 1922, should file with the
Finance Committee an accurate esti-
mate Of their needs and | particularly
urge that such requests be based on a
study of the conditions which actually
exist and an accurate estimate of the
probable needs of each committee.
You will understand that the big
share of the Boards present activities
is being handled through the Road
Committee, and to this Committee |
feel | should make certain specific
suggestions as to the public improve
ments which seem to require immedi
ate attention on the part of the Board,
and these are as follows
Il. Reconstruction of the Mays Lam
ding DOwnstown Road from the line
between Hamilton and Buena Town
ships to the line between Atlantic and
Gloucester Counties. This is about
six miles in length and l feel that that
section of the Mays Landing Downs
town Road should be reconstructed
during the ensuing year, rather than
the section from Mays Landing tt the
Buena Vista Township line, because
the former is situated in a well popu-
lated section passing through the
towns OF Richland, Buena, Landisville
and DownstOwn, whereas the section
from Mays Landing to the line be-
tween Hamilton and Buena Vista
Townships is almost entirely through
a woodland, unsettled district OF the
county.
"2. There is considerable interest
among the largest taxpayers in the
County that the Absecon Boulevard be
widened at this time, so that the bou-
levard, when later on hard surfaced,
will be in as settled a condition as
possible, and so that it may be per-
manently constructed to a width to
take care of the very heavy automo-
bile traffic into Atlantic City over the
80 nD.natr,,a cd white JN.,o NIL. .-I
Ocean Highway. 1t is suggested that
this Boulevard be made a full 100 feet
wide, but | believe that if it is now
widened from 40 feet to so feet it will
be an easy matter to construct a hard
pavement later on to the width of 60
feet with gravel shoulders, to perhaps
a width of 20 feet on each side of the
hard pavement. The County's right
of-way over the meadows is 100 feet
wide.
Il want to call your attention to
the urgent need of lighting the Abse-
con Boulevard and this work would
have been accomplished more than a
year ago, except that we were unable
to secur a bid from the lighting com
panies by reason of the heavy finan-
cial load of the companies due to ex-
1OtiuS Wal to1hltlono. L l1OlI6i ICC-
ommend that this lighting of the Alb
secon Boulevard be promptly taken
up inc completed before the heavy
travel OF next summer commences.
20. | also wish to call attention to
the condition of the pavement on the
Shore Road between Absecon and
Somers Point. 1t is the County's in
tention to promote a strong effort to
haun this cantinn nf tho Chnro Pnad
made an extension to the Ocean
Highway. or Route No. 4. by appro-
pirate action of the Legislature at the
coming session. 1t is entirely proper
and correct that the State should take
yer this rOad as part of Route No. 4,
because even now the State is nego-
tiating in connection with the bridge
from Somers Point to Ocean City and
as is generally well understood, the
State will eventually build a bridge
from Somers Point to Beesley's Point
to carry the Ocean Highway directly
through from Atlantic Highlands to
Cape May. This means that the
County is responsible for about nine
miles of road which is really a section
of the Ocean Highway but which the
State has eve taken over as such.
"a. The Board is already on record
as being willing to undertake the i'm
provement of an extension to Ventnor
Avenue through Margate City and
Longport TO connect with the Somers
Point Boulevard, and | feel sure that
State Aid to the extent OF 400 may
be secured for this improvement, and
| strongly recommend hat the appro-
priation for road construction during
1922 will include the remaining 500
of the cost of this improvement.
81 believe that it is the unanimous
opinion of the largest taxpayers in
Atlantic City that the Shore Road be-
tween Absecon and Somers Point
should be reconstructed at the earli-
est possible date, and | sincerely hope
that each member of the Board will
lend all possible aid in the accom-
plishing of this big work.
1.-THE Finance Committee of the
Board will meet in special session on
the 2Sth inst. for the particular pur-
pose of preparing the 1922 Budget,
and it is absolutely necessary that
each committee of the Board have it's
estimate in the hands of the Commit
!"