Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-11-18
MANY TOWNS
MTEXASBUSY
AT PLANTING
Shows Over 30
Cities Adopting Pro-
grams; Widening of
Streets Epidemic

HOUSTON, Tex, Nov. 17.-tPJ-
More than thirty cities and towns in
texas are launching into one phase
or another of city planning. data
compiled by Miss Katherine Pollard,
publicity director of the Houston
Forum Of Civics showed.
Reasons for creating the city plan
commissions and their activities vary
widely, Miss Pollard said.
City planning is not restricted to
any section Of the state but regional
planning, which is carried out in a
thorough fashion in many states, is
almost unknown in Texas, the Forums
survey revealed.
Corpus Christi's plan is most I'M
usual and Is IN large measure the
work of the sculptor, Gutzum Bor-
glum. 1t provides for throwing up a
protecting arm circling the bay and
necessitates the reclamation Of APP
proximately 100000 square feet Of
land now submerged.
Street Widening Epidemic
This projecting arm will be marked
at its termination by a statue OF
Christ, having the appearance Of
walking on the water. The name Of
the city, Body of Christi, thus will
be put into sculptured form at the
sea approach.
A tunnel 400 feet long, eight and a
half feet high and eight feet wide Is
bieng cut through the bluff, which
divides the city, for the use Of pc
destrians.
Widening Of streets seems TO be al
most an epidemic in Texas, the sur
vey showed. During the first six
months of the year, 81 petitions were
filed by property owners Of San An
tonic for widening and opening Of
streets. Narrow and tortuous streets
have formed the most harassing
problem in city planning for the
Alamo City.
Abilene. Galveston and Browns
willie are among the cities which have
adopted street widening programs.
Many Cities Busy
Revision Of the Waco charter 20
establish the right of the city to
widen. repave and otherwise improve
the streets was begun in June. At
Austin a coming commission has been
snnointed and a zone map drawn up
dividing the city into residential
apartment house, business and indus
trial districts. A bond issue Of
s4.250, 900 will be used TO carry out a
program Of city development.
The immediate problem hat the
Fort Worth city planners face IS that
the city now needs more public
buildings that Fan be supplied erec-
ton near Lake Worth has been pro-
posed.
Houston now has a city planning
engineer, a planning ~consultant and
plan commissio.
Dallas took up city planning IN
1910 and il has been estimated that
hat citv has spent S75, 100000 m
building levees along the Trinity riy-
ar 20 reclaim land menaced by floods
and in other phases of city develop
ment. Dallas citizens recently voted
To issue bonds under the Uirlekson
plan TO the amount Of S2S,99o.oUu'
which will be spent within the next
nine years.
Have Aid Fund
The Kessler Plan Association Of
Dallas, the citizens planning organ
ization Of that city. has a special
fund for the purpose OF aiding otner
Texas cities and towns in devising
their Improvement programs and
many towns have come TO that asso-
citation for aid. Among o them are
TAYLOR. Mount Pleasant, Denton.
TYLER. Paducah. Grand Prairie, Gar
land, Mesquite, Lancaster and Lub-
book.
Denton already is at the point OF
preparing a major plan for its future
development, Miss Pollard said. =
city planning commission was formed
at Sweetwater only a short time age
and there has been agitation for city
planning at Big Spring.
Longview already has mapped out
= five year program Of Improvement
and is planning a $16S,0O0 bond IS
sue. More than one hundred persons
from Brovnwood. Santa Anna, Brady.
Cross Plains, Cisco. Ballinger. Win
ters, Abilene, San Angelo. and Cole
man attended a city planning meeting
in the latter city in September.
The Brady city council is urging
the paving Of all allies in the bust
ness district. Brentwood recently
completed a white way system two
and one half miles long.
The proposal has been made at San
Angelo that $75.0 0 be spent on parks
in the near future.
Mercedes, San Benito. Harlingen.
and Brownsville are among the Val
lev towns which are alive not only
10 the benefits OF city planning but
those of regional planning. it was
aid. Port Arthur Is working on a
zoninr plan and Texas City is group
ING its municipal buildings. including
4 new $4,000 city hall. int = civic
cantor