The New York herald., 1922-12-16
A Surgical Operation on the Map
of Manhattan.

The plan put forward by the Presi-
dent OF the Borough Of Manhattan
for relieving street congestion offers
no cheap and easy solution of the
problem. But it is a good plan be-
cause it is evident that lot of good
would come from it. 1t is a good
plan because it can be accomplished
with relative speed
President MILLER has inspected the
map Of the island and discovered the
obvious. Looking at it as surgeon
would look at the blood vessels of
body in trying to find the cause of
faulty circulation, he sees that the
arteries of our traffic are pinched in
some places and short or clotted in
J others. Manifestly there is nothing
to do but enlarge the narrow and
short veins and remove the clots.
A typical case of pinching is at the
south end OF First avenue. The
traffic bound for the lower part of
the island through that avenue finds
itself choked at East Houston street.
1t has been travelling a road 100 feet
wide. Whet is the continuation?
Allen street, which is only fifty feet
wide and has an elevated railroad
structure. President Miller would
widen Allen street and let First ave-
nue. traffic reach East Broadway.
I Second avenue presents the same
/ symptoms. At East Houston street
/ its career ends and the traffic is ex-
! pected to contract itself enough to
proceed southwark through Chrystie
street, which is one-half as wide as
Second avenue. President MILLER
would widen Chrystie street from
Houston street to Canal street, which
is fine. broad thoroughfare.
The south end of Sixth avenue suf-
fers from the common complaint
of winding up nowhere" This
avenue, in fact, stops in a maze
of Greenwich Village streets. A
stranger coming to the bottom Of
Sixth avenue would not know which
way to turn TO reach down town.
Mr.. MILLER would drive through and
make connection with Canal street.
This reform will be absolutely neces-
sary when the Sixth avenue elevated
railroad disappears; it would help a
good deal right now.
For the creation OF West Side ar
teries President MILLER suggests ex-
tending Riverside Drive by viaduct
as far south as Canal street. This is
sensible. The pressure that such an
| Improvement would take from Broad
way and all the West Side avenues
below Seventy-second street is now
one OF the most dangerous elements
of the traffic situation.
| The extension Of Park avenue by
viaduct from Ninety-sixth street to
the Grand Concourse in The Bronx;
OF Riverside Drive to Spuyten Duyvil;
of Seventh avenue from 155th street
to the Speedway; of Amsterdam ave-
nue. across Sherman Creek-these
would all help in untying the traffic
knot of the upper island.
Gramercy Park would be cut in
order to make Lexington avenue and
Irving place a continuing thorough
fare. This would be great improve
ment. Mount Morris Park, around
which the traffic of north Fifth ave-
nue. has to wind, turning from an
avenue 100 feet wide into cross streets
sixty feet wide, would be tunneled.
But IL the cut had to be made straight
through II would be justiflable, for
however strong the sentiment for
parks may be. the sentiment for
human life and limb is greater.
The only suggestion Mr.. Miller
makes touching Central Park is that
a northern outlet for Sixth avenue
be made. This certainly should be
done. More than that, IL II can be
shown that the motor traffic enter
ing the Park at Seventh avenue or
other gates can be handled better by
changing park roads in such man
ner that the beauty of Central Park
will not be marred the changes
should be made. Parks are made for
people: not people for parks.
Widen where you can, extend where
you can. remove dangerous salients
wherever IL is possible, and put all
the street surface available to work
that in effect is the Miller plan. Some
OF the minor schemes are as impor-
tant to life as the big ones. Many
bad accidents, for instance, would be
avoided If Irving place were cut
through to Fourth avenue, shifting q
tremendous amount ny traffic away
from Union Square.
New York is facing street prob
lens which the planners Of the city
could not have contemplated. They
laid out the city to accommodate the
greatest number OF dwellers that
could be imagined in a day when the