Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-11-21
REALIZE THE NEED OF CITY PLANNING

49,
The need of cooperation in the matter of city planning i
bodies there that are continually planning for the city's develop
ment, each one is working along independent lines. Here is VIVA
Charles Downing Lay says about city planning in the New Yorl
Tribune this morning:
"The recent talks by Commissioner Enright and Deputy
Commission Harriss on the congestion of our streets by motor
vehicles and their demand for more highways and better town
planning in all New York bring wildly before us the great
need of a town planning body in the city government.
we forget sometimes that town planning is an active
day by day affair in New York; that it is constantly going on
under the pressure of necessity, and if the days work be not
well done we shall suffer in the future.
.The Department of Plant and Structures is always doing
town planning.
"The borough presidents through their commissioners of
public works and their typographical bureaus are doing town
planning day by day of the most important nature and are
also providing for the future street plan of undeveloped areas.
''The police department in its control of traffic determines
the use of streets and influences the city plan vitality.
All of this work is in a measure controlled by the Board
of Estimate, but not sufficiently, because it comes to the
boards engineer piecemeal, a desirable Improvement in itself,
but not sufficiently related to other improvements soon to be
undertaken.
Gin order to provide an efficient town planning body for
New York it is only necessary to form a committee of all the
agencies now doing town planning and to give them power to
control as a body the work of all departments.
s'The town plan committee should have an appropriation
for its staff in order to study, to coordinate and to originate
different schemes which may affect one or more boroughs.
Each separate town planning agency, knowing that its own
schemes must be passed on by the central body, would seek
advice and be more careful in preparing plans to consult the
other members in advance and to plan with regard to future
improvements in a different department.
GOOD work in town planning in New York must be for
immediate benefits as much as for future ones. 1t may even
happen that before an inspired, comprehensive plan can be
adopted it is time to change it."
Perth Amboy has already had an example of what can be
done in the way of city planning as far as one branch of the NUM-
government is concerned. The water department engaged
IN expert engineer a few years ago and had a comprehensive plan
not only to include reservoirs and pipe lines, but providing
for an extension of the water shed running as far south as James
burg. With this plan before it the water board can act inteli.
gently whenever it is necessary to extend the system or increase
the city's water supply.
But real city planning cannot be done peacemeal. The city
must be considered in its entirely or else our advancement will be
lopsided. That is the purpose of the City Plan Commission which
has been doing good work in a quiet way considering the limited
funds available.
Real city planning is being taken up by municipalities from
the size of New York and Chicago to the smallest b%oroughs. 1t is
time Perth Amboy took the matter more seriously and provided
the money necessary to put it across. No better way could be
ound for investing the taxpayers money.