Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-05-26
CITIZENS APPROVE
| new TRANSIT PLAN
Northern and Southern Sec
tlons cheered at Councils Agi-
tatIon for gh-speed Lines
THOROUGH STUDY REQUIRED

BUSINESS men ana resluents OF the
northern and southern sections of the
city expressed approval today Of Coun:
cil'a renewed agitation for more high
speed lines and Improvement in traffic
conditions.
Resolutions advocating improvements
In this direction were adopted yester-
day. Adoption of any of the plans
would require modification Of the Tay-
Tor comprehensive transit system con-
ceived during Mayor Blankenburg's ad-
minfstration. and those in touch with
transit affairs and the legislation con-
cerning it say a thorough study Of the
situation will have to be made.
Councilman Won Tagen started the
transit and traffic ball rolling at yes
terday's meeting.
adopted two resolutions. one calling
upon the Director of Public Works to
furnish Council with an estimate OF
the cost of opening a north and south
wide traffic boulevard between Delaware
avenue and Broad street and another
asking the City Transit Department to
estimate first the cost of constructing
a subway beneath Broad street from
City Hall to Olney avenue and then
the cost of erecting an elevated line
on a north land south street from Mar
ket street to Olney avenue.
Four. Track Line
Mr.. von Tagen's plan would cnil for
four track subway or elevated line
with local and express trains travers-
Ing the structure.
Prior to the passage of the Won Tagen
resolutions. Director Twining furnished
Council with an estimate placing the
cost of extending the existing elevated
n rt
and Jackson streets at 5000 900.
This extension was advocated in an Or
dinaRce introduced last week by Coun-
Gilman Pon,mer. That line would be
two and half miles in length and
would serve the lower end of the city.
Mr.. Won Tagen. in urging the high
speed lines to the northern and north
western sections of the city. suggested
that 1t might be well to modify the
Taylor transit plan providing for high
speed facilities to the different locali-
ties. He pointed out that six years
have elapsed since those plans were
drawn and that conditions have so
changed that possibly the construction
Of a subway up North Broad street
would entail a prohbitive fare pos
sibly as high as twenty or thirty
cents.
The northern end of the city is being
starved, from a transit standpoint he
elevated matter has been satisfactorily
settled. he intends to push for high
speed lines to the northern end of the
Points to Congestion
'sOur traffic congestion enters into the
problem. too he said in presentins
his resolutions. "and If a subway is
built in Broad street, it will have but
little effect on this congestion which
e. en1 dAily
''On the other hand, believe con
siderution should be given to the open
ing Of traffic boulevards, one between
the. Delaware River and Broad street
probabl, Eleventh street. and one be
tween Broad street and the Schuyl.
kill-either Seventeenth or Eighteenth
sufficiently wide to relieve traf fix
~ congestion and upon which an elevated
structure could be erected giving high
speed service. Upon a wide boulevard
he said. elevated transportation would
not be detrimental.
''In the final analysis we must con
sider, first, whether the Taylor plan |.
still the best transportation plan fol
the city; second, whether the construc
ton of Broad street subway will carry
with 1t prohibitive fares, and third, W,
must decide between the Taylor pla.
and some other means of transportation
which also will have bearing on the
traffic problem"
Mr.. Won Tagen suggested the con
struction Of two boulevards of from 1J(
to 200 feet in width paraleling Broad
could be reared He said it would cos
possibly as high as $4,000. 900 a mil,
to construct the Broad street subwa,
provided for in the Taylor plan, so thai
all Of the $4,000. 900 available for til,
construction Of the units embodied lr
the Taylor plan would be used up for &
Broad street subway.
Mr.. Hall declared that there hat
been persistent effort to stfe th,
Broad street subway at Erie avenue
That structure, he said, should b,
built. no matter what the cost Fl,
said the city transit department coult
begin construction of II at once anc
exhaust the $oi,00O,O00 available TO
the purpose and then obtain the fund
necessary to complete the road. HI
suggested that Mr.. Won Tagen urge th
department to begin construction of th'
subway. at once.
Wider Streets
The congestion OF traffic. be main
tained, could be cared for by lifting tn,
tracks from Thirteenth and Fifteenth
streets and widening those thorough
fares. Thus high speed transit woult
traffic congestion would be eliminated
by the construction of the two wild
streets adjacent to Broad street. Th'
Won Tagen plan, Mr.. Hall complained
would possibly cost as high as $50,
OOO. 900, which is too much
Mr.. Won Tagen said he was seekin>
information rather than endeavoring t,
commit the city to any proposition a
present. He said he would insist ol
high speed facilities for northern an
northwestern Philadelphia, and tina
he would resist any attempt to chop OF
the BROAD street subway at Erie ave
nue. u 1t we're finally decided to con
struct the underground line.
~ The resolutions were then unani
mously adopted by Council.
N director Twining's estimate of tn
cost Of the downtown line was pred
Acated on the plan that the p. X. T
would soperate the extension runnin
from Delaware avenue and Sout
street. where the elevated now termi
mates, to Moyamensing avenue. theme
over Snyder avenue to Fifth. to Jack
son and then to Thirteenth and Jack
son streets. stations, he said. coul
be located at half mile intervals.
The Directors estimate of cost wa
criticized by Mr.. Hall, who said it wa
evidently based on war prices, Will
Councilman Pommer said that II tn