Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-06-28
CAR LINES NOT
KEEPING APACE
WITH PAVEMENT
Many Streets Hardly Passable
Because of Space Between
Tracks.
ENFORCED
By voLNEY 3. FOWLER.


In the making of bridges" be-
tween the various traffic islands" OF
indianapolis, which have been dis
cussed in a previous article, much
immediate good could be done were
pavement between car tracks on
number of trunk" streets to be put
in good repair.
II has been pointed out that most OF
the points of interest, such as the PARKS
the Speedway, and some Of the nne eouh-
trv drives are isolated from each Otne.
because Of the lack Of broad, weil-paEei
city streets between them. numoer
Of such streets might be classed as
ehroed and well paved" II it were pos
sible for motorists to use the car TRACK
pavement with comfort. Vice versa there
are few streets upon which the street
railway companys pavement is good anu
the surface on either side, kept up DS
the city, is miserable.
No PENALTY PAID
BY COMPANY.
The board Of public works from time
to time in the last three years has is
sued orders to the Indianapolis street
Railway Company to put Its pavement
Maid 10 them The board OF works couio
have penalfzed the car company 500 per
dav for DELAYS under the franchise, which
was surrendered recently, but 1t dld ho'
use the weapon.
Az the presenet time the city and the
street railway are engaged In con-
troversy over the powers OF the city 20
regulate the company, now that the
franchise is dead, and the question OF
original paving and resurfaeing between
tracks is one Of the angles In dispute
The utility contends that property own
ers should pay the original cost OF suen
having and the company keep 1t up
thereafter. The company has PAID Io
both heretofore Snsistence that II the
city compels .he company to do q lot OF
resurfacing and other improving the Iare
must be raised so as to provide revenues
also is a complication entering TO cause
delay while the track pavements ger
worse and worse.
STREET HALF BUILT
SOON WEARS OUT
whether the citizens OF the company
pay. for resurfacing and original pave
ment motor traffic movement on mum
Der Of downtown and outlying main high
ways would be greatly aided by better
surface along the tracks.
In streets where the tracks are bad and
the city pavement on either side IS In
fairly good shape all the traffic is forced
onto il, with the result that il wears out
much sooner and the narrow double
lanes get in a congested state In the
few cases where the city pavement is bad
and the car track surface good. -the-een-
ter Of the street suffers too heavy use
and rapid deterioration, just rs the out
side lanes do in the opposite case I'm
provement Of the street should be carried
out from curb to curb at practically the
same time The Street Railway Company
has either not been in financial or has
not desired to cooperate in this way in
the last few years, however.
Streets which city officials say would
be Tar better able to handle their motor
traffic loads IL car track surfaces were
more passable are: East Tenth street
Delaware street (downtown), Ohio street
(downtown), Massachusetts, avenue Vir-
Rinia avenue, West Washington street
(now under repair In one sectiOnl, East
Washington street as far east as the Belt
Railroad, Madison avenue, Illinois street
Capitol avenue (downtOwn), Indiana ave-
nue., East Michigan street as far east as
Tacoma avenue, West Michigan street
several blocks Of which have had car
tracks unpaved and the rest Of the street
improved for the last four years. Illinois
street, the stretch of which from Thirty
Eighth to Forty Sixth streets is in the
same fix as West Michigan street, Col
lege avenue north to Fall Greek. Central
avenue north of Nineteenth street. South
Meridian street and practically all other
solth-side streets which have car lines on
them.