The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-05-23
Fifty-one Days p rfsF
and Nothing Done

eaalo lNOSllAIl8 AOl1S
THE SHILLING AVENUE
PARKING
Blackfoot is making f1naicial loss
and loss In convenience and beauty
by not having some cooperative eff
fort in construction work that is be-
ing done Just now on streets and
parking, % y Il
For seven blocks on Shilling
avenue the property owners are hav-
ing central street parking put in, or
at least have started It and got the
curbing built, the city water pipes
connected to give sprinkling service,
and pipes laid, thru which to conduct
light wires for supplying lamps in
each end of every section of the park
ing at some future time when the
property owners can afford 1t.
The, dirt now lying within these
park spaces is merely street dirt,
having been ruined for plant growth
by having been. worked and mixed
by travel when it was wet. The life
and fertility Of the soil has been de-
stroyed and it is in a sense dead.
For part of the way there has been
a dumping of ashes, cinder, cement,
gravel and other dead refuse in the
parking, and some Of it is has been
p1owed and mixed as If to start plant
ing 1t. i. .-
What needs to be done is to haul
away, considerable of the dirt and
rubbish that is now in the parking
spaces and haul in rich, sandy loan
and well rotted manure.
The city construction gangs have
been hauling dirt into some streets
to fill up, and cooperation would
have moved the stuff out Of the park
ing into these places that have to be
filled.
The county has been putting its
parking spaces into form, and In do
ing so, has loaded much rich, sandy
soil into wagons and hauled 1t out
and dumped it along the edge of the
railroad right of way to get rid of 1t,
and cooperation would have dumped
it into the parking spaces on Shill-
ing without further expense.
Barclay and Morgan have hun
dreds of wagon loads of very rich
fertilizer lying in the way in their
feed yards just above the sugar
factory and they need market for
it. While they are getting it out of
their way for the next feeding season
it might be dumped into the parking
spaces that are so much in need of
it, and make luxuriant growth Of
grass, shrubs, flowers, or whatever
is to be planted there, for certainly
the town and the owners of the park
ing do not want any exhibit there,
buth the best that can be grown. To
use poor soil or unfertilized soil for
the parking in the best street in the
best town in the Snake river valley,
where will pass the tourists of
America seeing what we raise and
what our soil and climate are cap
able Of producing, would be a DAM
age to the country rather than a
boost, and the people responsible
for making the damaging exhibit
would be open to censure rather than
deserving of commentator.
1t is not too late vet for some CO.
operation in moving trash and soil
to get the desired results with least
EXPENSE. The city and county and
others will still be moving dirt for
weeks to come, and a parking COM
mittee could keep in touch with all
such work and get much results
practically free, and everybody
should be glad to help it along.
According to what we can learn
nothing has been done by the prop
erty owners looking to the compile
ton of the parking, and the season
is passing. 1t is commendable eff
fort on the part fthe owners of the
property to take on this burden, but
parks will not make themselves.
When the individuals make the
parks and maintain them they will
have done the public very sub
stantial favor. If tax were levied
to help in the work, then the resi-
dents of other streets would say that
this was favoritism, and there would
be merit in the statement. If the
property owners are thinking of
making parking on the cheap plan,
because they cannot afford to make
high class job of it, they should
frankly confess to their fellow towns
men that they need help to put this
project over, and plenty of people
would subscribe to fund to be used
in putting on the finishing touches
OF high quality in soil and fertilizer
to make creditable showing. The
space that is made into parking has
not been paved, and in that respect
the owners Of the adjacent property
have made saving o. about $1,000 a
block by omiting the paving and put
ting in curbing. Surely $1,000 will
take out the rubbish and dead earth
and fill in with rich sandy loan and
fertilizer and pay for caring for the
growth in the park for long period,
perhaps as long as it will take to pay
off the paving bonds. EE
The time is ripe now for park
ing organization on Shilling and CO.
operation will. get it done cheaper
and quicker than any other means.
If each property owner works on a
plan of his own, it will not ONLY be