Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-09-21
IGNORING CITY PLAN COMMISSION


regard to the elimination of the grade crossings
in this city why do the Board of Aldermen ig-
more the City Plan Commission? If there is any
subject that is of vital concern in making a city
plan it is the elevation or depression of the rail-
road tracks. Apparently. the aldermen do not
consider the GU Plan Commission worthy of
notice when It comes to something really i'm
portant.
The resolution passed by the Board of Alder
men authorizes the chairman to appoint a COM
mittee of aldermen to act with the city engineer
and the city attorney in taking up the grade
crossing proposition with the railroad company.
To have this matter so arbitrarily taken out of
their hands witho even being consulted as to
whether they have any suggestions to make or
plan to offer. is as much as to say 1t would not
make any difference anyway what the City Plan
Commission had to say and the aldermen have
not time to bother with them.
II this is the attitude Of the Board Of Alder
men it better, by far. drop the commission alto
gether and save even the paltry $4,000 which
was appropriated for its use this year. So far.
this amount, If any of 1t has been spent. is
wasted. The city cannot afford to waste even
$4,000 these days.
A real City Plan Commission would be in a
position to take full charge OF such a grade
crossing elimination. OF course. the aldermen
could do as they pleased about any plan that
the commission might suggest, but If the COM
mission had had expert advice on the subject
and the matter of the elimination of grade
crossings had been carefully considered from all
angles after a careful and exhaustive study OF
the city as q whole, there is reason to believe
that the aldermen would not deem 1t wise to
ignore such plans as the City Plan Commission
had to offer.
If such matters as the elimination of grade
crossings. involving. al it does, the matter of a
union railroad station. the location OF freight
yards, approaches to water front, and SO on. are
not the direct concern of a City Plan Commits
-saor- then of what use is a City Plan Commits
sion, anyway? But 1t was the same when the
development of the harbor was recently consid-
cred here. This is another important subject
vitality affecting the development of the city. yet
1he City Plan Commission was made conspicu-
GUS by it's inconspicuousness, so to speak. Then.
again, there is the state highway bridge. why
has not the city Plan Commission had some
thing to say regarding that momentous achieve
ment? It clearly comes within the Jurisdiction
Of q city plan. yet the very organization that Is
supposed to look after such matters is hardly
even thought of In connection with the project
and the commission does not show aggressive
ness enough to insist upon being heard.
As a matter OF fact. the City Plan Commission
10 being laughed at by the aldermen. What few
constructive ideas the commission has advanced
have either been ignored or rejected. The ordi-
nance regarding regulating the construction of
garages has been used more as a football to be
kicked back and forth than anything else. We
do not believe the aldermen ever had any inten-
ton of passing such a law, but felt that 1t was
something to keep the City Plan Commission
busy so they fooled along with 1t until the city
attorney has now declared 1t illegal. But there
10 an Invitation for the commission to try again
whereupon doubtless some other flaw will be
found to prevent any definite action being taken.
The rounding of the curbs at corners is treat
cd as q Joke. and the street commissioner is al
ready taking care of dewalks. Really. we
wonder how long the City Plan Commission will
continue to be the laughing stock of the city
government?
II the commission, as soon as it was ap-
pointed and had time to organize, had at once
got in touch with an expert city planner who,
with the $4,000 available. had actually COM
mcnced a real city plan, enough progress could
have been made to at least warrant an addi-
tional appropriation next year, and SO the work
could have gone on.
II, when the state highway engineers came
here to select a site for the north approach to
the new highway bridge across the Raritan
river, the City Plan Commission had at once
come to the front and declared that they would
have to be consulted as they had the matter Of a
definite city plan in hand and had an expert en-
gagged in working on the matter, the city's in
terests would have been looked after in a way
that would have made the approach something
that would serve the city for the next fifty years
II, when the Port of New York Authority de-
clared that Perth Amboy's water front was in
volved in the proper development OF the port as
= whole. the City Plan Commission had come
to-s:Ara sk once with the suggestion that the
expert. in making a plan for the future develop
ment of Perth Amboy. had taken into full con-
sideration the commercial development of the
shore, it would have been serving the city in a
way that o City Plan Commission is supposed to
serve.
II, when the Central railroad suggested grade
crossing elimination the City Plan Commission
could produce plans for the depression or eleva-