PROPOSAL TO BUILD SUBWAY UNDER RAILWAY TRACKS ON MUIR STREET

Spitzer-Rorick Company Notified By Council to Take Up Hydro Debentures or Stand Loss on Re-sale-Welland Street to be Opened Over G.T.R.-Advertise for Tenders for Next Year’s Paving.

[Welland Telegraph, 7 November 1913]

SEEN AT A GLANCE

The Council:

• Discussed $20,000 viaduct, under the railway tracks on Muir St.
• Protested against trains blocking crossing on Muir Street and re-affirmed their request for overhead bridges.
• Gave notice of building debenture company liable for loss on sale.
• Called for tenders for next year’s paving.
• Referred subdivision plans to engineer for general layout.
• Decided to open Welland St. over the G.T.R.
• Heard mayor announce that he would give instructions to have curfew law enforced.
• Gave chief of police two weeks holidays.

For the town of Welland, the township of Crowland, the M.C.R. the local railway company to jointly share the cost of a subway under the railway tracks crossing Muir Street was a suggestion given consideration at the council meeting Monday evening.

The proposal was brought about by a communication from the Dominion Railway Board stating that an overhead bridge over the tracks a suggested by the council was not feasible for the reason the pedestrians would not use it because of the height of the ascent necessary.

The board stated that approval had been given the request of the electric railway to cross at grade, but the M.C.R. was raising strong objections and it was now proposed to have the street railway be a subway under the tracks. To protect pedestrians crossing the tracks at Muir street and at Plymouth Road the railway would be willing to pay the same proportion as at present for gates to be operated day and night at Muir Street and to have the gates at Plymouth Road continued in operation at night as well as in the daytime.

“Crowland would consent to this arrangement,” advised the solicitor.

After the last fatal accident at the Muir Street crossing a flagman was stationed there and the board has not yet given an order for his release.

TRAINS BLOCK CROSSING

Deputy Reeve Crow explained that the idea of the gates was to give workingmen going across to the factories a chance to get across the tracks when the crossing was blocked by trains.

Aud. Hughes said the public was a better judge as to the accessibly of these crossings and the public wanted the overhead bridges.

“If the railway blocks the crossing we should summon witnesses and prosecute,” opned Ald. Reilly.

The solicitor was instructed to review suggestions to have the bridges built and to advise the board that the town favored the gates and the arrangement of payment.

WOULD COST $20,000

C.J. Laughlin proposed the scheme for building a viaduct. The cost would be about $20,000 but it could be borne jointly. There would have to be sixteen-foot clearance and the railway could raise its tracks up a distance, commencing the grade a thousand feet back. This would eliminate further trouble.

“We are now considering the building of a private subway for our line half way between the canal and Muir Street,” he said.

HOLD DEBENTURE CO. LIABLE

The council decided to give the Spitzer-Rorick Company notice to either take up the $40,000 received…. Hydro Electric debentures used would again advertise them for sale and hold the company liable for the loss occasioned by the re-sale.

NEXT YEAR’S PAVING

Instructions were given the engineers to advertise for tenders for paving North Main Street, Division Street, Hellems Avenue, Cross Street and Burgar Street, between main and Division.

The kinds of pavement on which tenders are to be received are brick, rocmac, asphalt, bitulithic, concrete and reinforced concrete.

Ald. Hughes explained that sewers on these streets could be put down this fall and that the water commission were now putting down their connections.

A motion to have the sewer connection on these streets put in was carried.

“Is it the intention of the council to pave North Main?” asked Deputy Reeve Crow.

“Yes,” replied Ald. Hatt. “We are making temporary improvements on the street this fall out as far as Elm, which is as far as the pavement will extend. From there to the end, the street is being made permanent with stone.”

DOESN’T FAVOR CONCRETE

D.T. Black, city engineer, in his report on the kinds of pavement, said concrete was short-lived unless reinforced and then it would cost as much as any other pavement. Cracks would develop and the abrasive action wear away the surface. He thought it better to use some other kind of paving.

FROWN ON SUBDIVISION

A motion to approve of the plans of Welled Heights subdivision was replaced with a reference to the engineer after the council had fully discussed it. The streets are not in accordance with older streets already laid out and the council felt that permission to open such streets would lead to trouble, expense and confusion in the future.

Ald. Hughes was surprised that the street committee would recommend the acceptance of such a plan.

Ald. Reilly complained about the lots being small but his entire objection was to the irregularity of the streets. “They are not streets, but pockets,” he said.

“They are sixty-six feet wide,” said Ald. Hatt. “We have nothing to say about the size of the lots.”

Ald. Traver said such subdivisions had a tendency to scatter the town and run up the cost of local improvements.

The engineer will make arrangements to have the streets in the property conform to other and established streets and make such preparations that any other property nearby if opened in the future must be in harmony with the general plan. All streets must also be opened out.

NEW SEWERS

The sewer committee were instructed to advertise for tenders for sewers on Fraser, Edward, Hooker, Welland and Cady Streets and to put in sewer services on Division, Hellems Ave., North Main and Burgar Streets.

OPEN UP NEW STREET

Welland Street will be opened over the G.T.R. tracks, is spite of a letter from the G.T.R. stating that yards might be opened at that point and giving preference to Asher St., as a crossing over their tracks, the council decided that Welland Street would be the most advantageous place for the new crossing.

The street committee were instructed to take the necessary steps to have the street opened. Property from Burgar Street to the track must be expropriated.