Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-06-22
SOLVING THE MUNICIPAL PROBLEMS

in the Philadelphia Public Ledger which discusses the
problem confronting the city in meeting present day needs
The streets in Philadelphia were admirably laid out by VIII"
liam Penn so as to make perfect squares, but in those days
they never dreamed of such traffic as we have today ana SO
the thoroughfares were made entirely too narrow.
The necessity of ~remedying this fault has been brought
to a head by The construction of the new Delaware river
Z bridge between Philadelphia and Camden. "a preliminary
estimate by the Survey Bureau of the probable outlay neces-
sarv for the widening of the thoroughfares leading to and
\ from the Delaware Camden bridge" the Public Ledger
saws. "shows shat the city must expend many millions TO
make that great traffic artery serve the purpose for which IL
is intended. And a great many millions more VIII be neededI
for the opening of new streets and the widening OF existing
thoroughfares that must be essentlal parts u an! reai pi'hi'
of city expansion"
Perth Amboy might we'll learn a lesson from this. III
all goes back 10 a city plan in which future development is
taken into account. But the Philadelphia problem applies
particularly t. Perth Amboy because here, too, an import
ant highway bridge is about to be built. The new highway
bridge across the Raritan river will be the most important
bridge in the state. The present bridge is already carrying
an enormous traffic, but this traffic is going to be greatly
! increased in the future. The city has got to plan accordingly.
Tn the first place. the streets leading to the bridge have
bot to be amply wide. The proper development OF Cleveiano
! avenue leading across the city is one OF the frst essenuals'
I This avenue can easily be widened at the present ume DE-
kcause there is little, if any building on 1t. This IS something
hat the city ought to be planning for now rather than wait
oul the bridg, is finished and the congestion a reallty'
But this Cleveland avenue development IS not the only
lining Is be considered in connection with the new DrldSe.
There is the matter Of the Smith street crossing; TINS Is
hound to become a serious menace within a year or two
after the bridge is built and the time to solve the problem IS
now when the structure is being erected.
Curved approaches leading up to The bridge level could
he built on both sides of Smith street so that traffic from
Smith street could reach the bridge in either direction with
out any difficulty. Such an arrangement could be worked
out satisfactorily by the city engineer and it could be made
TO conform to any plan that the City Plan Commission has III
mind.
The point is, the time to plan for this development is
now while the approaches are being built, not wait until
thousands of dollars have been spent on approaches that
provide for a grade crossing at Smith street and Convery
place, only to find a few years hence that the work will have
10 he done all over again at a greatly increased cost to the
taxpayers in order to do that which could have been done at
the beginning for but little additional cost.
Incidentally, it is interesting to note that Elizabeth is
going in for a city plan. Mayor Mravlag has announced that
he will appoint a City Plan Commission to follow up the zon-
, ing work already accomplished. In a sense, however, this
is putting the cart before the horse as coming is really a part
of city planning, as the Elizabeth Journal points out, and tie
CITY plan idea should have been taken up in the first place.
Perth Amboy has adopted the right course by putting the
whole matter in the hands of a City Plan Commission.
Smith street is the main artery of travel east and west
through the city. Convery place, which is to be the new.
approach to the bridge will become the main artery of travel
north and south through the city. They will cross at right
angles. When the heavy traffic on Smith street meets the
enormous traffic coming across the bridge something is
going to happen. The danger and confusion is going to lie
bad enough the minute the bridge is open-the present trail
flo through Prospect street shows that, but it is going 10
become a very serious problem within a year or two.
It is the duty of the city to look into this matter and
plan accordingly. NO doubt the Clty Plan commission Is
giving this situation some consideration, although with the
meager appropriation available it is doubtful if it can ao-
complish much. 1t would be well for the aldermen to gel
in touch with the city planners TO see just what is being
done in this regard.
"Some have had The idea in mind that city planning be
longs only to cities of first size and consequence" says the
Elizabeth Journal. 'As the experts have been pointing out,
however, it belongs more naturally and properly to the
smaller city, and even TO the community that has not YET
! grown into a city. 1t is a program promoted for the import
! ant purpose OF saving a community from creating almost in
advertenly problems of congestion, inconvenience and ugli-
ness that the larger cities are facing and are now too large
o solve"
Perth Amboy has adopted the right course in taking up
itv planning before the city has fully developed. But the
4 things, such as the state highway bridge and harbor de-
elopment, are crowding in upon us so fast that there is no
me TO lose IN getting a definite, comprehensive plan
dopted.