PITTSBURGH MAIN THOROUGHFARES AND THE DOWN TOWN DISTRICT “ 16.98". 25,05" East Ohio Street—a two-line thoroughfare Fifth Avenue—a four-line thoroughfare Of the 530 miles of main thoroughfares within a radius of seven miles of City Hall, less than one and one-half per cent have room for pas- sage between cars and vehicles, slow-moving or standing at curb. See page 31. Liberty Avenue—a six-line thoroughfare PITTSBURGH CIVIC COMMISSION PITTSBURGH MAIN THOROUGHFARES AND THE DOWN TOWN DISTRICT IMPROVEMENTS NECESSARY TO MEET THE CITY’S PRESENT AND FUTURE NEEDS Al Report BY FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED Prepared under the direction of The Committee on City Planning ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION DECEMBER, I9IO 324 FOURTH AVENUE FEBRUARY, 1911 Publication No. 8 wd a A PITTSBURGH CIVIC COMMISSION H. D. W. ENGLISH : ‘ : ‘ : ; President J. W. KINNEAR F z F s . First Vice-President JOHN W. BEATTY . ‘5 : ‘ . Second Vice-President H. J. HEINZ : : . ; ‘i Third Vice-President J. J. DONNELL i : j : A ; . Treasurer ALLEN T. BURNS ; : : ; . General Secretary O. H. ALLERTON H. L. KREUSLER T. E. BILLQUIST JOSEPH W. MARSH CHARLES F, CHUBB Marcus RAUH WILLIAM L. JONES GEORGE R. WALLACE MorRIS KNOWLES . CHARLES F,. WELLER COMMITTEE ON CITY PLANNING T. E. BILLQUIST, Chairman CHARLES F. CHUBB H. J. HEINZ BENNO JANSSEN “RICHARD KIEHNEL E. K. MORSE Copyright, 1911 Mount Pleasant Press a soe Seale J. Horace McFarland Compan: By Pittsburgh Civic Commission Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 2 Dedication THIS BOOK AND ITS CONTENTS ARE DEDICATED TO THOSE CITIZENS OF PITTSBURGH WHO, IMBUED WITH CIVIC PRIDE AND THE VISION OF A CITY USEFUL, CONVENIENT, ECONOMI- CAL AND HEALTHFUL, AS WELL AS BEAUTIFUL, WILL, IN THE YEARS TO COME, RESPOND TO THE CALL OF THEIR CITY TO SERVE IT WITHOUT HOPE OF PERSONAL REWARD, AND WITH PATIENCE, FIDELITY AND ENTHUSIASM. PITTSBURGH CIVIC COMMISSION TABLE OF CONTENTS LETTER OF TRANSMISSAL City PLANNING AND THE CosT OF LIVING IN PITTSBURGH INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF URGENT RECOMMENDATIONS . Part I. THE Down Town DistTRIcT The Main Arteries Eastward Arteries and Their Improvement A New Traffic Center Sixth Avenue : Try Street Grade Crossing Second Avenue Freight Yards The Hump Cut Grant Boulevard Extension A Civic Center ; Diamond Street Widening Market Street Widening The Market The Water Front : The Improvement of The Point Part II. Marin THOROUGHFARES Width of Thoroughfares Special Types of Thoroughfares Widening Old Streets . : Unified Procedure for City, ee and jee Specific Recommendations Penn Avenue Artery Forbes Street Artery South Hills Artery ; 5 : Outlying Thoroughfare Improvements (with age indices) (ix) PacE x1 xili uO NN 10 10 10 II II 17 17 18 19 29 31 31 34 37 43 44 44 47 49 59 x CONTENTS Pace Part III. Surveys AND A CiTy PLAN. j ‘ : . 93 Pittsburgh’s Need for Surveys : ; A ‘ ‘ ‘i 93 Objects to be Secured. : : é j ‘ : < 94 Technical Procedure : : : : ; s 5 é 95 Maps. 3 - ‘ : 3 2 5 ‘ ‘ 3 96 Management and Cost : . ‘ ‘ i ‘ ‘ 98 Sample Maps : ; : : : ‘ ‘ x , 98 Data from New York ; ; 2 : : : ; 98 Data from Baltimore. ; : ‘ : ; ‘ . 100 Part IV. NoTES ON PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES - I01 The Bellefield Improvement ‘ : ; ‘ ; . Io! Grant Boulevard. : ‘ ‘ 2 ; : ‘ - 106 Steep Hillsides : . ‘ i : . ‘ : . 09 General Discussion of Parks : ; : 2 : . 113 Neighborhood Parks ‘ 3 ‘ : . x 11g Rural Parks . ‘ 5 ‘ z ‘ ; : . 116 Special Park Opportunities . ; , : : . . <7 Part V. SpEcIAL REPORTS : ; : 3 : g - 188 The Market - ‘ : ; i : : . 123 The Hump Cut . ‘ : : : 2 y 3 . 128 The City and the Allegheny River Bridges . ‘ : . 133 Letter of Transmissal Mr. T. E. BILLQUIST, Chairman, November 26, 1910. Committee on City Planning. Pittsburgh Civic Commission. Dear Sir:—I have the honor to submit herewith a report upon desirable improvements in the main thoroughfares and the down town district of Pittsburgh, prepared in accordance with the instructions of your Committee and in consultation with its members. In submitting the report I wish to take the opportunity of expressing my appreciation of the attitude of your Committee throughout the twelve months during which the investigations and the preparation of the report have continued, and of the part which the keen interest of its members and their helpful criticism have had in making the report a useful one. The closeness of the connection between the problems dis- cussed in this report and those of the Traction System, which have been concurrently studied by Mr. Bion J. Arnold, has involved frequent conferences with Mr. Arnold and his assistant, Mr. George A. Damon, as well as with Mr. John P. Fox, engaged by the Mayor for a study of the same problem; and the informa- tion and suggestions furnished by them have been of great assistance. In the preparation of the report on the Allegheny River bridge problems, submitted jointly by Colonel T. W. Symons and myself and printed in Part V of this report, informa- tion furnished by Colonel H. C. Newcomer, in charge of the local office of U. S. Government engineers, has been of the utmost value. I am also greatly indebted to the Flood Commis- sion, and especially to Mr. E. K. Morse, Chairman of the Engi- neers’ Committee of that Commission, for the use of maps and other data gathered by them. It would have been impossible to secure an intelligent basis for the conclusions and suggestions presented in this report without the great quantity of detailed information and other help furnished by the Board of Assessors, the Departments of Pub- (xi) xi LETTER OF TRANSMISSAL lic Safety, of Public Works and of Law, especially through Mr. N. S. Sprague, Superintendent of the Bureau of Construc- tion, Mr. Chas. A. Finley, Superintendent. of the Bureau of City Property, and Mr. Lee C. Beatty, First Assistant City Solicitor. Throughout the investigation and the preparation of this report I have had the benefit of illuminating and stimulating conferences with Mayor Magee. The actual gathering of necessary information from the above and other sources, the field studies and the preparation of nearly all of the drawings accompanying the report, were carried on under the direction of my personal assistant, Mr. Edward C. Whiting, with the active help of Mr. Allen T. Burns and Mr. Sherrard Ewing, General Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the Commission, to all of whom my hearty thanks are due. My friend and colleague in the study of several city problems elsewhere, Mr. Arnold W. Brunner, of New York, has given me valued counsel in regard to the possible architectural treatment of the proposed Civic Center, and has been good enough to con- tribute to the report the interesting sketches on pages 13 and 14 for a possible municipal building framing the east side of the proposed square. As explained at length in the body of the report, the work has been greatly handicapped and limited in its scope and effec- tiveness by the entire lack of accurate detailed maps of the city and surrounding country. This lack would have rendered the report almost wholly impossible had it not been for the very use- ful topographical map of this part of Pennsylvania prepared and published by the United States Geological Survey. Not only have my studies of the outlying thoroughfares been based almost wholly upon this map, but the Survey has courteously permitted the use of transfer sheets from their original plates for the thoroughfare map published in this report. Respectfully submitted, (Signed) FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED. City Planning and the Cost of Living in Pittsburgh PURPOSE AND PREPARATION OF THE REPORT graphically in the frontispiece of this report. These drawings also suggest, from Pittsburgh’s own provision for some of her needs, a method to decrease this cost. All delays and congestion of traffic, such as illustrated on Fifth Avenue and East Ohio Street in the frontispiece and as shown by illustrations in this preface and the introduction, add to the expenses of manufacturers, the costs borne by wholesale merchants, and the prices charged consumers by retail dealers; in short inadequate traffic facilities in Pittsburgh, as in other cities, add to the cost of doing business and of living. The map at the end of this preface portrays a second factor influencing the cost of living. This map shows how much land Pittsburgh has, both used and still unused, for business, manu- facturing and residence districts and for means of communica- tion, i. e., streets between these districts. glance also indicates the almost unparalleled problems of this city because of the large amount of territory 25 per cent or over in grade. For land of this grade is not only unused for buildings and streets, but also often erects barriers to the natural growth and spread of busi- ness, manufacturing and residence sections. Consequently, Pitts- burgh must exercise greater ingenuity and foresight than other cities to prevent such congestion of all these activities as would increase rents of all kinds abnormally. This would mean again an added burden to the ultimate consumer for all life’s necessities. In addition, tax rates are chronically assailed as a charge on the cost of living. But taxes are spent largely for improvements to furnish adequate streets, to provide for the city’s spread and growth and to carry out other improvements which alone can make life livable and desirable in a modern city. In fact, “taxes may actually diminish the cost of living, if the city’s money is spent economically in the performance of necessary co-operative (xiii) A FACTOR in the cost of living in Pittsburgh is stated DIAGRAM SHOWING MOVEMENT OF TRAFFIC AT IMPORTANT STREET INTERSECTIONS IN PITTSBURGH wipth or BAND REPRESENTS NUMBER OF CARS AND VEHICLES PER RUSH HOUR. SCALE FOR NUMBER OF VEHICLES. 10075'5025-0_ - 100 - 200 300 a ee Note: Vehicle trafic on Market Street, between Fifth and Liberty Avenues, now discontinued (xiv) PURPOSE OF THE REPORT XV service.” But taxes are often wasted because the improvements are made piecemeal, by patchwork, with no reference to future needs. Taxes for such improvements should be made only as a part of a far-sighted and comprehensive plan. Then, without waste, work done at the present will fit into the work to be done in the future. By offering solutions for the above and many other similar problems this report demonstrates that practical city planning— or better, replanning—is part of the world-wide conservation movement. City planning is municipal conservation. Pittsburgh, like other cities and to a greater extent than most of them, faces the problem of using her financial and territorial resources to the utmost. The ‘‘utmost”? means making these resources go the furthest in securing ample streets for transportation and traffic, and easy communication between all parts of the city; in providing for the cheap distribution of food, fuel and clothing; in making all residence districts as nearly as possible equally healthful, uncongested, and provided with trees and yards; in establishing for all residents public accommodations for recreation and leisure; and in maintaining and developing adequate districts for retail and wholesale trade, manufacture and commerce. The Pittsburgh Civic Commission has conducted its city planning with the above ends in view, and purposes by this report to contribute to the economy, convenience, practicability and attractiveness of Pittsburgh’s development and growth. The Commission began this work by retaining Bion J. Arnold, John R. Freeman and Frederick Law Olmsted to make a report on the outline and procedure of city planning for Pittsburgh. This report stated the scope and methods for investigations on the following subjects: Steam Railroads Water Transportation Electric Railroads Street Systems Public Lands and Buildings Water System Sewerage System ; Control over Developments on Private Property Smoke Abatement Building Code y Xvi PURPOSE OF THE REPORT Provision has been made by which several sections of this program are already under way. The city administration has been foremost in appreciating the necessity for just such investigations as the report recommended. Expert advice at this period in our civic advance is imperative if this city is to take its proper rank among American cities. Upon completion of the preliminary report Mayor Magee undertook to have studies made upon the electric and steam railroads, and requested that the Commission release to the city Mr. Bion J. Arnold for this purpose. This the Commission gladly did, and since then Mr. Arnold has conducted these investigations for the city along the lines laid down in this preliminary report. The preparation of a building code as sug- gested in this report was authorized by the city councils at the request of the Mayor, and the latter appointed a competent building code commission, and an appropriation has been made for the carrying out of this part of the City Plan. Mayor Magee also secured the retention of Mr. Allen Hazen of New York, who is making such a comprehensive study of an adequate sewerage system as was suggested in this report. Likewise, the Mayor has planned to carry out the studies for the water system. The Commission itself continued the retention of Mr. Fred- erick Law Olmsted to make a study of a comprehensive main thoroughfare system for the center of the city and to the princi- pal residence and manufacturing districts and the surrounding boroughs. Mr. Olmsted was also asked to report upon the loca- tions of the main public buildings and grounds of the down town district. This report was to cover both immediately necessary improvements and a comprehensive improvement program for the next twenty-five years. Thus could present improvements be made economically because planned with reference to those of the future. The Commission presents herewith Mr. Olmsted’s report on these subjects, made under the supervision of the Committee on City Planning. The members of this Committee have given months of time from their private business to the consideration of every detail of this report; and this committee, with Mr. Olmsted, has. given to the report its value as a contribution to the movement for the Greater and Better Pittsburgh. PITTSBURGH CIVIC COMMISSION. PITTSBURGH CjVIC COMMISSION GENERAL MAP OF THE PITTSBURGH DISTRICT SHOWING POPULATION —— A DOT = 200 PERSONS RAILROAD PROPERTY THUS TEE) MANUFACTURING PROPERTY THUS [iil SLOPES STEEPER THAN 25% THUS PARKS, CEMETERIES, ETC. THUS SCALE IN MILES . 1 Yor ‘ j J fect FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED CONSULTANT ON CITY PLANNING PITTSBURGH MAIN THOROUGHFARES AND THE DOWN TOWN DISTRICT Introduction (r | \HERE are two main divisions of City Planning. One looks to the rearrangement and improvement of what has already been unwisely done through lack of proper planning or through force of adverse circumstances of any sort. The other looks to the wise and economical layout of what still remains to be done, especially at the outskirts of the city where the major part of the city’s growth is bound to occur, and where the city plan is daily taking shape out of nothing, whether it is intelligently designed or not) Prevention is cheaper than cure, and a moderate expenditure of effort and money will accomplish far greater results in the long run if applied to the wise control of the growing suburban districts, where new streets are constantly coming into existence, than if applied to costly remodeling of the older parts of the city; but the latter is sometimes of the utmost importance, and is of direct interest to a much larger number of citizens than the prosaic work of controlling scattered suburban development.) In accordance with the instructions of the Commission this report deals primarily with certain problems of remodeling in, the down town district, and with the improvement of the main thoroughfares between this, the heart of the city, and the more important outlying districts. To carry out at once all the recommendations of this report would, even if it were possible, impose an altogether unreasonable financial burden upon the City and the contiguous boroughs. Such procedure is unnecessary and indeed impossible. But in 2 PITTSBURGH—INTRODUCTION many cases there is a crying need for the improvement already, or it is of such a nature that any delay is apt to involve a con- siderable increase in the cost and the difficulty of carrying it out. Suggestive treatment of street junctions in outlying districts, Stuttgart The most urgent general improve- ment of this sort is the establishment of new building lines on all main thoroughfares which it is pro- posed to widen; this in order to anticipate, as far as possible, the con- struction of new and costly buildings on the present street lines. Of the specific recommendations made in this report it seems advisable to give the earliest attention to the following: In the Down Town District Pa The cutting of the Hump and the widening of certain streets in the "ee Hump District as recommended . : scat 10 The extension of Grant Boulevard to Webster ‘Degeniae Be neue, PTL The acquisition of land required for the proposed Civic Cte a The widening of Diamond Street . 17 The widening of Market Street . 17 The relocation of the Market 18 The new connection between Penn and Tibeaty Aeneas at - Hleventh Street . De dene 7 The elimination ae the See Stree dale crossing . 10 The proposed bridge and tunnel to the South Hills 49 Along Outlying Thoroughfares SeenON Sixteenth Street bridge . : I 56 Twenty-eighth Street grade crossings . 2 o7 Thirty-third Street improvement . 3 57 Forty-third Street bridge 6 59 *Haights Run bridge 9 59 Hazelwood grade crossing 18 64 *Baum Street improvement . 20 65 Center Avenue improvement . 21 65 *Hamilton Avenue extension and connection with Kelly Street 22 65 *Already provided for, wholly or in part, in the current bond issue. PITTSBURGH—INTRODUCTION 3 SECTION PAGE Larimer Avenue extension. ...........2. 004 24 66 Batayia Street | erty line would pro- ee e ae vide a_ thoroughfare | &— lt from the down town >> CQrneiaim || district to the East wy ; = End with a 4 per cent FREIGHT YARDS maximum gradient, Diagram No. 2. Penn-Liberty connection at which is easier than Thirty-first Street LIBERTY AVE. 58 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES can be reasonably obtained on any other line. The northern end of the Thirty-third Street bridge and the west end of Ligonier Streets should be raised to meet the new grade of Liberty Ave- nue; the bridge will then be about level, and Ligonier Street will slope between 6 and 7 per cent down to Thirty-fourth Street. 4. Sassafras Street Outlet.—Raising the grade on Liberty Avenue will seriously interfere with the western outlet of Sassafras Street. But if this street becomes of sufficient importance— and its location in the valley close to the railroads sug- gests a considerable devel- opment of its frontage for freight houses, warehouses or manufacturing—it will be simple and satisfactory to bring the western outlet to the junction of Penn Avenue and Butler Street by means of a short tunnel under Thirty-fourth Street from the south side of Liberty Avenue to the northwest side of Ligonier Street. 5. Penn-Liberty Connection at Howley Street—A connec- tion northeast from the junc- tion of Liberty Avenue and Main Street to Penn Avenue will be needed. (Diagram No. 3). This can be secured by widening and extending Diagram No. 3. Penn-Liberty connection at Howley Street. Thereby Howley Street traffic bound for the Garfield District and east thereof can climb the Lawrenceville hill by the comparatively easy gradient (4 per cent) on Liberty Avenue, avoiding the steeper hill (about 5 per cent) on Penn avenue. This will also connect with the proposed Bloomfield bridge to Grant Boulevard. OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 59 6. Forty-third Street Bridge.—Butler Street is the main extension of the Penn Avenue artery up the Allegheny River, and its first branch thoroughfare is at Forty-third Street. The Forty-third Street bridge, like the one at Sixteenth Street, must soon be rebuilt.* This bridge connects Millvale and large sections of Shaler and Ross townships with the Point District via the Penn Avenue artery. The new bridge should be of ample width and should be high enough so that the approaches can be carried over the railroad tracks at either end. 7. Sharpsburg Bridge.—The Sharpsburg bridge is the next important branch of the Butler Street thoroughfare. It forms the most direct connection from Pittsburgh proper to the boroughs of Sharpsburg and Etna and to large portions of Shaler and O’Hara townships. The bridge should be widened—the present toadway being only 21 feet including car tracks—and the northern approaches should be improved. (Sections 60 and 61 following.) 8. Butler Street Improvement.—From a point nearly opposite the western end of Baker Street east to Haights Run, there is no property of value for manufacturing, or for dwellings, or stores, between Butler Street and the railroad which runs below it on the river bank. The same is true east of Haights Run as far as the Brilliant pumping station or the present beginning of Beechwood Boulevard. It seems very desirable that these portions of Butler Street, instead of being widened merely enough for traffic accom- modation, be developed as a picturesque riverside parkway—a fitting approach to Highland Park and a continuation of Beech- wood Boulevard. This involves the control of the narrow strip of property between Butler Street and the railroad; though occasional houses might be allowed to remain therein without detriment to the effect as a whole. The Bureau of Parks is working along these general lines, and has already bought many parcels of the land north of Highland Park between Butler Street and the railroad. 9. Haights Run Bridge—The present Butler Street bridge over Haights Run is of light construction and has a total width of only 17 feet; this should be rebuilt of ample strength and capacity. 10. The Aspinwall Bridge—The Aspinwall bridge, crossing * See Part V, Special Report on the Allegheny River Bridges. 60 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES the river at Six Mile Island from Butler Street to the eastern portion of Sharpsburg, is narrow (36 feet over all) and is of light construction. It is so important that it will some day need to be rebuilt of ample width and strength for main thoroughfare use. At its southern end it connects (1) with the Butler Street thoroughfare, of which it forms the northeastern extension, and (2) with a proposed cross-town line (Section 25 following) up the Haights Run Valley to East Liberty. On the north it connects directly with Guyasuta and Aspinwall, with most of the country in O’Hara township, and with the Freeport Road leading to é 4 ee FLETY 2 °° o ___] ca "2\ eA : * © 3 2 109.72 Sw bizs.0 « FORBES | SENECA Diagram No. 4. Forbes Street—Fifth Avenue connection at Soho Claremont, Montrose, Oakmont and all points up the Allegheny River. This Freeport Road is destined to become the main thoroughfare up the Allegheny because the precipitous character of the south bank of the river, and the consequent almost total absence of land suited to residential or commercial development between Highland Park and Verona, make the direct extension of Butler Street, as a riverside thoroughfare, both expensive and impracticable. 11. Forbes Street—Fifth Avenue Connection at Soho.—At Soho the connection between the Forbes Street artery and Fifth Avenue —the principal thoroughfare to Bellefield and all points to the east thereof—is most simply accomplished by splitting the Forbes Street artery at Seneca Street into two levels, the upper, on the OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 61 north side, running on nearly a straight line and gradient to Fifth Avenue, joining it just west of the school house. (Diagram No. 4.) The lower portion would become the continuation of Forbes Street, and should be raised at Brady Street about 17 feet, or so much that the gradient on Brady Street, up from Forbes Street under the proposed high-level street to Fifth Avenue, will not be over 6 or 7 per cent. A good gradient will still be possible on the approach from Forbes Street to the Twenty-second Street bridge; and the Forbes Street gradient, down from Seneca Street, will be much reduced. These changes will greatly improve the means of access to the Twenty-second Street bridge. On Forbes Street, just west of Craft Avenue, there is a bad gradient for a main thoroughfare (about 6% per cent) which is not easy to improve; but the above cross connection at Brady Street will give a through line to the East End via the Forbes Street artery and Fifth Avenue, with a maximum gradient of about 4% per cent (on the Soho hill). 12. Fifth Avenue— Center Avenue Connection at Soho.—As a main thorough- fare feeding Minersville and the northern part of the Hill District, either from the South Side via the Twenty-second Street bridge, or from the Point District via Fifth Avenue or Forbes Street, a connec- yy 1 Diagram No. 5. FI TH AVE. ahs AT Fifth Avenue—Center Avenue connection at Soho tion is needed on a reasonable gradient from Fifth Avenue to Center Avenue through the valley south of Soho hill. Such a street (Diagram No. 5) could leave Fifth Avenue at Jumonville Street, start along the location of Wyandotte Street, then curve * 62 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES around the nose of the hill and follow the hillside on the west of the valley; thus, by cutting away some of the recent filling at the upper end of the valley, it could reach Center Avenue at the cor- ner of Soho Street with a uniform gradient of about 3 per cent. At pres- eLELLSWORTH AVE. ent there is no way [oof reaching this high land on a gradient less than 7 Sy per cent. The new street Diagram No. 6. Ellsworth Avenue extension shown on the dia- gram is preferred to the improvement and extension of Moultrie Street because (1) it gives a better gradient,(2) it is a more direct approach from the down town district, and (3) it leaves the bottom of the valley available for enlarging the Moultrie Street playground.* 13. Ellsworth Avenue Extension.—As Fifth Avenue is the principal thoroughfare to Bellefield, so Ellsworth Avenue becomes its main branch or extension from Bellefield to East Liberty. This street should not end at Neville Street, as at present, but should be ex- pemaed. to. the corner of Craig a Street and Fifth = ‘ a : iS Avenue. (Diagram A one-sided hill-street in Geneva, possessing an No. 6.) incidental recreative value 14. Monongahela Hillside Thoroughfare.—The thoroughfare requirements from the Forbes Street artery up the Monongahela River can best be met by a hillside street, partly new and partly following existing streets, running substantially parallel to Second *See Part IV Section 1, page 117. OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 63 Avenue but along the hillside above the railroad tracks. This thoroughfare would leave Forbes Street at the bend about 1200 feet east of Brady Street, cross the little valley (which should be filled north of the new street) and extend eastward, crossing Bates Run on a viaduct, and using, where possible, parts of Lawn and Frazier Streets, to the mouth of Four Mile Run. Thence, by another viaduct, it would connect with Sylvan Avenue, on the north side of the valley, and follow this street widened to Hazel- wood Avenue; by another viaduct it would cross the Flow- ers Avenue valley to Glenwood Avenue and follow the latter widened and _ par- tially regraded to Mansion Street. There it would bend to the northeast, cut through the plateau land to the next ra- vine, cross this on a viaduct and, bending southward again, descend around the nose of the hill to the Glenwood bridge. So easy a gradient can be obtained on this new street that it Sts may reasonably be ex- Se pected to carry nearly all Diagram No. 7. Monongahela hillside thoroughfare—a typical section. the through traffic. With proper connections (the most important of which are described below), it will also take most of the travel to and from the residen- tial districts lying above it to the northeast. The location of this street, high on the hillside above the Monongahela River, presents unusual opportunities incidental to serving its primary purpose as a main thoroughfare. With an ample roadway for all kinds of traffic, with trees for shade and decoration, with a broad promenade overlooking the river and the hills to the south, it would furnish rare and much-needed facilities for recreation; and, further, it would have a distinctive character most appropriate to the rugged topography of the Pittsburgh District. (Diagram No. 7.) 15. Bates Run Connection.—Starting from the western end of this new street, the first important transverse street connection 64 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES would be at Bates Run. Here a street should be run up the east side of the valley, not far from the present location of Romeo Street, to the intersection of Wilmot and Bates Streets, thus reaching the Oakland District. 16. Greenfield Avenue Connection—On the southeast side of Four Mile Run the new thoroughfare will pass over Greenfield Avenue. But a connection should be made therewith by running a practically level street, from about the junction point of Sylvan Avenue and the new thoroughfare, northeast along the hillside adjacent to Greenfield Avenue until it meets the Greenfield Avenue grade. 17. Greenfield and Squirrel Hill Extension.—From this point on Greenfield Avenue a new street should be built running to the northeast. It would cross the first little ravine on a viaduct, thence follow the south bank of the Four Mile Run valley, climb- ing at a uniform gradient, and join Beechwood Boulevard at the southern end of the bridge into Schenley Park. This will furnish a direct connection from the new hillside thoroughfare to the eastern portion of the Greenfield District and to Squirrel Hill; the maximum gradient will be only about 3% per cent instead of about 7 per cent as at present on Greenfield Avenue. This new street could be extended, from the point where it joins the boulevard, underneath the Greenfield Avenue viaduct, along the side of the valley to the south and up to the higher portions of the Greenfield District. The gradient of such a street need not exceed 5 per cent. 18. Hazelwood Grade Crossing —Although the construction of the hillside thoroughfare (Section 14 above) does away with the necessity for widening Second Avenue east of the Tenth Street bridge, Second Avenue is still an important main line, and all feasible improvements should be made thereon. One of these is the elimination of the grade crossing at Hazelwood, and here Second Avenue should probably be carried under the tracks. 19. Glenwood Bridge—The Glenwood bridge becomes a most important link in the thoroughfare system; it connects Second Avenue and the proposed hillside line at one end, with Eighth Avenue in West Homestead and with the mouth of Streets Run at the other. Eighth Avenue leads up the Monongahela to Home- stead, Munhall, Rankin, Braddock, Bessemer, Duquesne and OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 65 McKeesport; Streets Run is the starting point of several impor- tant thoroughfare lines into the country south and east. One of these thoroughfares will undoubtedly be a main line from the city proper to Dravosburg and points above on the Monongahela River. The bridge should certainly be widened and the gradients of the approaches improved, especially that from Second Avenue. 20. ‘Baum Street Improvement—Grant Boulevard will always be an important line to the East End, especially for fast-moving travel. To improve its outlet eastward from Herron Hill, Baum Street and South Atlantic Avenue should be connected and extended west to Craig Street. The connection between the two streets is easily made by cutting through the corner between Liberty Avenue and Rebecca Street, leaving a small triangular park. The extension of South Atlantic Avenue will require a bridge over the Pennsylvania Railroad just east of Morewood Avenue, a bridge over the Baltimore & Ohio tracks, and the grad- ing and paving of the street already located west to Melwood Avenue and Craig Street.* At its eastern end the outlet into Penn Avenue should be im- proved by widening Whitfield Street on the east side and by rounding back the corner of Baum Street and South Highland Avenue. 21. Center Avenue Improvement.— The junction of Center, Ellsworth and South Highland Avenues at East Liberty is certain to become a congested point and to require more ample outlet into Penn Avenue. Several possible solutions have been consid- ered, but the simplest plan, and probably in the end the most economical and satisfactory, is to widen Center Avenue on the south side from South Highland Avenue to Penn Avenue, cutting off the jog at the latter end. This improvement will give ample connection with Penn Avenue and the more important streets radiating from East Liberty. (Diagram No. 9.) 22. Hamilton Avenue Extension.—The proposed extension of Hamilton Avenue from Fifth Avenue west to Penn Avenue is cer- tainly desirable. The western end, however, should not be located adjacent to the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks (as planned by the Bureau of Surveys) but should join Frankstown Avenue at Station Street. (Diagram No. 9.) This location provides a more * This improvement is provided for in the current bond issue. 66 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES economical arrangement of streets and lots because it avoids (1) constructing a main thoroughfare with business frontage on only one side, and (2) leaving a building block only 100 feet in total depth between two main streets. The plan necessitates widening Frankstown Avenue, but this street is an important thoroughfare much in need of widening on its own account and a few additional feet to accommodate Hamilton Avenue traffic will not materially affect the cost. At its eastern end the Hamilton Avenue extension should connect more directly with Kelly Street. This connection can be secured by widening and constructing Kelly Street, as located, from Fifth Avenue to Julius Street, and from there building a short diagonal to Hamilton Avenue. (Diagram No. 8.) 23. Negley Run Boulevard.—East Liberty is so important a junction point of main thoroughfares, a distributing point as it were, that good connections to all localities are important. One of these is a boulevard, or street, chiefly for pleasure vehicles, down Negley Run to Beechwood Boulevard. It could practically follow the lines of Princeton Place and Butler Street. By widening and Diagram No, 8. Hamilton Avenue extension regrading these streets and by acquiring and controlling the ravine and its banks a very attractive boulevard may easily be secured. Incidentally an extremely unattractive and undesirable negro and Italian settlement, in this valley, will be cleared out. 24. Larimer Avenue Extension.—Princeton Place, or the boule- vard just proposed, and Larimer Avenue, a thoroughfare leading into the Lincoln District, both dead-end at Broad Street. A con- nection for both should be made through to Penn Avenue. (Diagram No. 9.) OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 67 When this change is made and Frankstown Avenue is widened (Section 22) the eastern corner of Frankstown and Penn Avenue should be cut back to aid general traffic circulation. PRINCETON PL = kal WA: COLLINS U Diagram No. 9. East Liberty Improvement 25. Haights Run Thoroughfare—Another connection to be desired is from the East Liberty center to the Aspinwall bridge. The needed link is from Stanton Avenue to Butler Street. Fol- lowing Haights Avenue for two blocks the new street should extend down the west bank of the Haights Run valley, with a maximum gradient of about 3% per cent, to Butler Street. This new street would be used for both business and pleasure traffic, and its location on the steep side of a beautiful valley, much of which is already park land, will greatly enhance its value as a pleasure drive.* West frontage on this street, where the bank is not too high for use, will have a peculiar value for residential purposes owing to the permanence and beauty of an unobstructed outlook toward the park. A branch connection might easily be secured (at a somewhat steeper gradient) between this new street and the table land of the Morningside District by winding up the side of the branch *See Part IV, Section 15, page r2r. 68 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES valley and joining Chislett Street four or five hundred feet south of Martha Street. 26. Meadow Street Connections.—Stanton Avenue is already an important thoroughfare feeding the high sections of Morningside and cross-connecting many radial streets especially in the High- land Park District. Meadow Street is its logical extension to the southeast, and by an approach from Stanton Avenue to the new Meadow Street bridge over Negley Run these two streets can and should be connected. It is understood that this connection is already being made. Unfortunately on the east Meadow Street comes almost to a dead-end a block or so before reaching the junction of Franks- town and Fifth Avenues. Owing to the location of the Pittsburgh Hospital, the direct extension of Meadow Street is impracticable and the outlet to Frankstown Avenue can best be secured by widening Finley Street. 27. Stanton Avenue Connection to the Lincoln District.—A viaduct should be built from Stanton Avenue, at substantially the point where it enters Highland Park, running over Beechwood Boule- vard and the Brillant Cutoff tracks to that portion of Highland Park lying east of the railroad and now practically unused because of its inaccessibility. Furthermore, if it shall be possible to acquire a considerable portion of the Highland Cemetery property (still vacant) for residential or other taxpaying use, or if simply a right-of-way can be secured through the cemetery property, a combined thorough- fare and boulevard should be built from the viaduct above proposed, running about as shown on the map and connecting with Lincoln Avenue at the top of the hill. By this line the steep gradients on Lincoln Avenue can be avoided and the high country to the east reached on a gradient of not over 434 per cent. 28. Beechwood Boulevard Connection.—Chiefly for pleasure traffic more street accommodation is needed between the ends of Beechwood Boulevard, at Frankstown Avenue and at Fifth Avenue. As the Pennsylvania Railroad freight yards practically prevent linking the ends of the Boulevard by a new street west of Fifth Avenue, the best plan would be to widen Fifth Avenue, from boulevard to boulevard, enough for two roadways, one for pleasure vehicles and the other for business traffic. (Diagram OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 69 No. 10.) The west roadway would be best suited for pleasure travel because more than half of the west frontage is occupied by freight yards requiring access at only one or two fixed points. FREIGHT ‘ cae YARD a ve es a 2 Diagram No. 10. Beechwood Boulevard connection. A possible section 29. Boundary Street Improvement.—The plan to relocate and lower the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tracks in Junction Hollow and to construct a cross-town thoroughfare on the present rail- road site, is advantageous to all concerned and, it is hoped, will soon be carried out. The new street (Boundary Street relocated), at its southern end, should connect both with Second Avenue and the proposed hillside thoroughfare (Section 14); with the former by following the present line of Forward Avenue south to Green- field Avenue, and with the latter by going over the Baltimore & Ohio tracks just north of the present Sylvan Avenue viaduct, and extending west along the bank up to the new hillside street. At its northern end the new Boundary Street would bend to the east, after passing under Forbes Street, and, following the side of the ravine to get an easy gradient, curve westward again and join Fifth Avenue at Clyde Street. A branch to the west could connect with Boquet Street at Joncaire and with Forbes Street at the Schenley Park entrance. (See Bellefield Improvement, Plans A and B, Part IV, pages 102 to 104.) The new Boundary Street line should further be extended from Clyde Street north to Millvale Avenue at Center Avenue. This will give a continuous cross-town thoroughfare—the first one on a good gradient east of the down town district—from Second Avenue on the south to Penn Avenue on the north, tapping, en route, practically all the radial thoroughfares in the East End. 30. Murray Avenue Extension.— Murray Avenue, in Squirrel 70 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES Hill, is of secondary importance as a thoroughfare, owing to its steep gradients: but its usefulness can and should be increased by extending the street south along the line of the street railway from Forward Avenue, over Beechwood Boulevard on a viaduct or bridge, to Hazelwood Avenue. Practically as a continuation of this line and of the Boulevard, the present roadway to Brown’s bridge, now maintained by the Street Railways Company, should be widened and improved asa city street. 31. Beechwood Boulevard Re-alignment.—Beechwood Boulevard at Monitor Street makes two uncomfortably sharp bends to skirt a ravine. The ravine should be filled out two or three hundred feet from the upper end, and the Boulevard should be carried across on an easy curve at the eastern edge of the fill. 32. Second Avenue Extension—From the Glenwood bridge to the mouth of Nine Mile Run, the old location of Second Avenue, between the Baltimore & Ohio tracks and the river, presents a first-rate opportunity for a riverside street or boulevard. There are practically no buildings or industries requiring river frontage for commercial purposes, and yet there is sufficient room for a riverside thoroughfare of ample width without encroaching too much upon the flood section of the river. In a city where rivers play so vital a part in the commercial development, and form a most telling and characteristic element in the landscape, every opportunity should be seized to enjoy as well as utilize them. To be well above a maximum flood line, a boulevard along the water’s edge would have to be nearly as high as the railroad grade; but to avoid the large cost for river walls and filling, which such a construction would imply, the road could be built at a level only rarely flooded without sacrificing an appreciable amount of its essential value for recreative purposes. At its southern end it would rise over the Baltimore & Ohio tracks, a short distance east of the Glenwood bridge, to connect with the proposed hillside thoroughfare (Section 14); and at its northern end it would rise to connect with Brown’s bridge, and from there could extend into the Nine Mile Run valley. A parallel location for this street, on the hillside above the railroad, has been suggested and carefully considered; but it is believed that, owing to the large amount of retaining wall required, the cost of construction OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 71 would be almost, if not fully, as great as in the other location, and, other things being equal, it is a very real disadvantage to have a railroad between the river and a road which would other- wise have so much value as a pleasure drive. In either location, however, this street would form an attractive and important link in a hoped-for park and parkway development.* 33- Batavia Street.—Frankstown Road is the principal thoroughfare feeding large portions of Penn township and country to the east. The importance of this line means inevitably the concentration of much traffic at the junction of Frankstown Avenue and Oakwood Street where the Frankstown Road begins. Some relief can and should be afforded by improving portions of Batavia Street and extending it to Frankstown Road at Blacka- dore Avenue. Batavia Street should also be extended across Oakwood Street to Kelly Street, thus encouraging the use of the latter as an approach to the Frankstown Road thoroughfare. 34. Wilkinsburg Grade Crossings. —In Wilkinsburg three important streets,—Rebecca Avenue, South Avenue and Penn Avenue,—cross the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks at grade. Although plans for separating these grades must depend on the general plan of the Railroad for improvements in this region, it seems that the best solution, both for the Railroad and for the people, will probably be to raise the tracks as much as possible and to carry them over the streets. It is supposed that a plan to raise their tracks is now under consideration by the Railroad. 35. Wilkinsburg-Edgewood Connection.—Improved thoroughfare connections from Wilkinsburg through Edgewood to Swiss- vale, Rankin and beyond are much needed. Pennwood and Edgewood Avenues offer perhaps the most promising route. By sufficiently widening the former from Hampton Avenue to Hutchinson Avenue it can be divided, the east half remaining as at present, and the west half rising gradually to an overhead railroad crossing at Hutchinson Avenue. East of the tracks the street would descend gradually to the south over Race Street to the junction of Swissvale and Edgewood Avenues, forming practically an extension of the latter. Pennwood Avenue should also be extended along the railroad from Rebecca Avenue to Penn Avenue. If possible, the small * Part IV, Section 8, page 119 72 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES freight yard now in the way should be removed, perhaps to the other side of Penn Avenue, but if this proves to be impracticable it will not be unreasonably indirect to carry Pennwood Avenue around and simply cut back the southerly corner of the freight yard. 36. Braddock Avenue— Northerly End.— Braddock Avenue should be an important thoroughfare, cross-town from Franks- town Avenue to Forbes Street, and radial from Forbes Street southeast. North of Penn Avenue it is only located; this portion should be constructed and the railroad grade crossing eliminated. 37. Braddock Avenue Viaduct—To avoid the two, long, bad gradients on Braddock Avenue, crossing the Nine Mile Run valley, a diagonal connection should be made from Henrietta Street and Braddock Avenue to Hutchinson and Laclaire Streets. From the southern end of Laclaire Street a viaduct should be built across the valley, and connections should be made to South Braddock Avenue at the top of the hill and to Monongahela Street at Euclaire Street. 38. Rankin Improvement.— Miller Avenue and Fifth Avenue extension continue the Monongahela Street thoroughfare in Rankin. The sharp cramped corners at Harriet Street should be eliminated by cutting a diagonal from Miller Avenue at Gas Alley to Fifth Avenue extension at Harriet Street. The steep gradients and cramped turns from Hawkins Avenue to Braddock Avenue, at the Braddock borough line, should be short-circuited by extending Fifth Avenue eastward from Hawkins Avenue to Kenmawr Avenue, lowering the grade of the latter or even running under it if necessary to get an easy gradient, and thence running southward along the side of the valley to Braddock Avenue. The portion of Braddock Avenue north of the Pennsylvania Railroad should connect with this new street by bending sharply to the west, after crossing the tracks, descending on a gra- dient of 4 or 4% per cent, and joining the Fifth Avenue extension at about Antisbury Street. 39. Forbes Street Extension —Kelly Avenue is the best exten- sion of Forbes Street from East End Avenue, under the Pennsyl- vania tracks, to the eastern portion of Wilkinsburg. The two streets do not connect easily at Peebles Street, and a diagonal OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 73 Should be run through the Pittsburgh Field Club grounds from East End Avenue to Kelly Avenue. From Trenton Street to West Street, Kelly Avenue is quite steep; but the gradient can easily be reduced by filling 10 or 12 feet at West Street. 40. Woodstock Avenue Extension.—Woodstock Avenue is prob- ably the most important thoroughfare from Swissvale to Brad- dock, East Pittsburgh, and points up Turtle Creek; but it con- nects very indirectly at Swissvale with Edgewood and Braddock Avenues, its main feeders. From Rosslyn Street it should be extended to Center Street at the end of the Washington Avenue bridge over the railroad, and from there curve around parallel to the railroad, descending gradually past the Swissvale station to Braddock Avenue. The corner of Noble and Orchid Streets could be lowered to meet the grade of the new street, and the connection with Edgewood Avenue would be via Orchid Street as at present. 41. Bell Avenue Extension.—Hawkins and Bell Avenues form the natural extension of the Woodstock Avenue thoroughfare through North Braddock. The connection between these two, however (west of Jones Avenue), is indirect and cramped. Fortunately it can easily be improved; Bell Avenue should be extended northwest along High Street (by widening the latter on the south side), thence, by a viaduct or filling, across the ravine to join Hawkins Avenue at the bend by Penn Street. 42. Ardmore Thoroughfare.—The route of the Ardmore car line offers a firstrate opportunity for a direct thoroughfare from Wilkinsburg to East Pittsburgh and thence up Turtle Creek. Such a thoroughfare is much needed, partly because it will open up for development large areas of the back country in Wilkins and Braddock townships and partly because, owing to the already dense development in Rankin, Braddock and Bessemer, efficient thoroughfare widenings between the steep hills and the river would be so expensive as to be hardly justified and very difficult of attainment. The need for extensive street widenings through these districts will be practically eliminated by a thoroughfare of easy gradient along the Ardmore route. It is understood that the County has already begun the construction of this street. 43. Wilkins Township Thoroughfares.—From Wilkinsburg, 74 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES Penn Avenue is the chief thoroughfare approach to most of the hilltop country in Wilkins township, feeding it via the Greens- burg Pike and another highway to the east. Its gradient is very bad. A new approach can be made to the high land on an easy gradient by branching to the north from the proposed Ardmore thoroughfare (Section 42 above) about 3,000 feet east of Franklin Avenue, crossing the mouth of the first valley and following up the side of the eastern valley to the hilltop roads. As a further improvement, opening up this high land and connecting the important radial thoroughfares, this new street should be extended north along the hilltop to Frankstown Road. 44. Greensburg Pike.—From the northwest the Greensburg Pike (or Penn Avenue) descends into Turtle Creek with many sharp angles and a very steep gradient. A new hillside street descending the west side of the hill, rounding the nose thereof, and thence extending northward down to the valley level at Turtle Creek, is not an impossible solution of the present difficulties. 45. Greensburg Pike South of Turtle Creek.—South of Turtle Creek the Greensburg Pike again ascends the hill on a pretty steep gradient. In part at least this gradient can be improved by making the route somewhat more circuitous. 46. Streets Run.—From the Glenwood bridge one thorough- fare, destined to be of importance, follows the valley of Streets Run to Miller’s Grove, branching there into lines feeding Snowden, Jefferson and the southern portions of Baldwin and Mifflin town- ships. The street needs, in addition to widening, some re-align- ment and regrading. At several points where it crosses the Run, the fords should be replaced by bridges. 47. Dravosburg and Mifflin Township Thoroughfares.—Going south from the Glenwood bridge the first valley branching east- ward from Streets Run leads to the high land at Lincoln Place. Irwin Street is the present thoroughfare in this valley, but towards its upper end it becomes rather steep for main thoroughfare pur- poses. The most feasible plan to reach the southern highlands of Mifflin township and to connect with Dravosburg and thence up the Monongahela, is probably to follow up the south fork of the Irwin Street valley, climbing gradually but steadily along the hill- side, and reaching the high land above the head of Thompson Run. From this point branch roads can tap much of the hilltop OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 75 land of the township. Extending southeast the main road would cross the ridge south of Thompson Run, and descend gradually along the south side of the ridge to Dravosburg; there it would connect with lines up the Monongahela River. The high land between Streets Run and Whitaker Run can probably be best served by a hillside road following up the valley between Homestead and West Homestead. 48. Eighth Avenue Improvement.—The Eighth Avenue exten- sion, from Munhall to Duquesne, has for the most part a satis- factory gradient for a main thoroughfare; but just south of Green Spring it is unnecessarily steep. The road can easily be shifted a little down the hill, and the climb lengthened enough to get a very easy gradient. The location of this thoroughfare high on a precipitous hill- side overlooking the river and the enormous industrial plants at Braddock and Bessemer, vital elements in the development of the Pittsburgh District, presents an opportunity for scenic value which should not be overlooked. The natural beauty of the hillside and the interesting outlook over the river should be preserved. 49. Eighth Avenue Branch Westward.—The best way to reach the high land west and northwest of Duquesne is from the Eighth Avenue thoroughfare. A branch could easily wind up the hill from the vicinity of Kennywood Park, and thence cross the hilltops forming a main east and west thoroughfare. 50. Eighth Avenue Branch to Dravosburg.— From the next plateau south of Kennywood Park a branch could be extended southwest across Thompson Run (on a viaduct) and along the high land south of the Run. By branches, very little steeper than the main road, good connections can be secured with Duquesne and Dravosburg. 51. Duquesne Bridge.—The bridge from Duquesne to McKees- port has cramped and dangerous approaches at both ends. The northern approach should be widened and made less abrupt. The southern end of the bridge should be lifted and the bridge extended over all the railroad tracks. 52. California Avenue and Brighton Road Extension.— Coming now to the North Side, one of the most important thorough- fare routes runs northwest through Bellevue, Avalon, Ben Avon, Emsworth and down the Ohio River to Sewickley, Leetsdale 76 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES and points beyond. California Avenue in Allegheny, Lincoln Avenue in Bellevue, California Avenue again in Avalon, then 4 Y, either Brighton Road in Ben Avone, and the CK old Beaver Road in Emsworth, or the route » {Sy followed by the street-car line through these A WAY two boroughs, and the Beaver Road again ‘ WK beyond, practically comprise OK this thoroughfare. ; Connecting with Stock- ton and Marion Avenues, a street should be cut through West Park, North Side, ad- jacent to the east side of the railroad from Ohio Street, to the junction of Irwin and North Avenues. Thence a diagonal should be cut through to the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Fremont Street. (Diagram No. 11.) These changes, to- gether with the widening of Fremont Street and Washing- ton Avenue, will give a proper and sufficient outlet (and inlet) for both the California Avenue and the Brighton Road thoroughfares. California Avenue should also be cut through, adjacent to the railroad, from eerie ans CRE the corner of Sedgwick and Kirkpatrick tion from West Park, north Streets to Wolf Alley. a S i eat 53. Brighton Road Viaduct.—In Ben pee Avon, Brighton Road makes a steep and circuitous dip into the Spruce Run valley. This may be avoided by carrying the street across the ravine on a viaduct from about Park Street on one side nearly to Dickson Avenue on the other. 54. East Street.—On account of its steepness, and the difficulty of improving the gradient, Perrysville Avenue will never be a main CHICAGO FORT WAYNE OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS q7 thoroughfare except, to the high country immediately north of the down town North Side. East Street, therefore, must eventually become the principal thoroughfare leading north. Its gradient is easy and it needs only widening. Throughout much of its length (except at the southern end) the widening can now be done, mostly on the east side, with comparatively little expense for build- ing damage. The physical widening, however is most urgently needed from Third Street to Madison Avenue, where the thoroughfare is only 40 feet wide and is closely built up. Spring Garden Avenue is a thoroughfare; but as practically all the territory which might be reached thereby, except the narrow valley in which the street runs, can be served perfectly well from East Street and from other lines, the expense of widen- ing Spring Garden Avenue and its approaches seems scarcely justifiable. 55. Troy Hill Road.—Troy Hill Road is the thoroughfare to Troy Hill and the ridge to the north in Reserve township. From Ohio Street up to the plateau level it is quite steep, about 8 per cent. The only feasible improvement is to run a new hillside street from Vinial Street at Wooster around the west nose of the hill and up the north side to Lowry at Gardener Street. The gradient can thus be reduced to about § per cent. But because of the somewhat limited area to be served by this thoroughfare, and the considerable expense of constructing such a road, this im- provement is not urged as of special importance. 56. Lowry’s Lane.—From Ravine Street north to the county road, Lowry’s Lane, a link in the Troy Hill Road thoroughfare, is very steep (about 10 per cent). From the foot of the hill a street can easily be run around the west side of the hill, reaching the county road at its southern end. By this short detour the gradient will be reduced at least one half. It is understood that the County has already started an improvement of this nature. 57. East Ohio Street—East Ohio Street with its extensions— Butler Street, Main Street, Freeport Street and the Freeport Road—forms the only thoroughfare from the North Side through Millvale, Etna, Sharpsburg and Aspinwall up the Allegheny River. Most of the way from Troy Hill Road to Etna, the street is in sore need of widening and paving. Where it is adjacent to the railroad one sidewalk can be omitted and that much width saved. 78 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES At Millvale the grade must be raised to meet a new approach over the railroad to the Forty-third Street bridge. (Section 6.) 58. Millvale Thoroughfare-—Girty Run valley, at the mouth of which is Millvale, must inevitably be the route of the trunk line for a most important northern thoroughfare system. Thoroughfares following Girty Run and its numerous branches can reach West- view, Perrysville and all parts of Ross and McCandless townships and points north, on reasonable gradients. From the mouth of the valley up to Evergreen, the present thoroughfare, comprising Grant Street, North Avenue, Klopfer Street, and the Evergreen Hamlet Road, is narrow and in some cases very crooked, and is more or less closely lined with build- ings. Improvements on this line have not been studied in detail but much widening and some re-alignment is urgently needed. Probably the widening of Grant Street will be more satisfactory than paralleling it with a new street. 59. Etna Improvement.—Etna is at the mouth of the Pine Creek valley, the route of another very important thoroughfare system. Butler Pike, the Middle Road, Kittanning Pike and the three valley roads following Pine Creek and the two Little Pine Creeks, reaching all available country to the north on easy gradients, converge at Etna. To avoid the bottle neck at the Spang-Chalfant mills a new street should be run west of the mills from Bridge and Butler Streets over the creek and the railroad, joining Butler Street again a little west of the Kittanning Pike. A branch should descend from this overhead street westerly to the street which parallels the railroad tracks on the south and connects directly with the Butler Pike and the line up Little Pine Creek west. Further improvements on these thoroughfares have not been studied in detail, but numerous widenings and re-alignments are needed, especially in the Pine Creek thoroughfare. 60. Sycamore Street Grade Crossing and Bridge Street Improve- ment.—Bridge, Freeport and Main Streets should be lifted over the Baltimore & Ohio tracks at Sycamore Street. Bridge Street had best be kept up, probably on a viaduct, clear to the Sharps- burg bridge. The South Main Street approach to this bridge will thus be cut off, but another eastern approach will be pro- vided. (Section 61 below.) OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 79 61. Allegheny River Boulevard—From the Sharpsburg bridge up the river to Hoboken and possibly to Montrose, a first rate opportunity is presented for a riverside thoroughfare or boule- vard. Such a line will have rare scenic value and will also take much traffic from Main Street and the Freeport Road. It is understood that the Pennsylvania Railroad owns all the land from the Sharpsburg bridge to Aspinwall between the river and Main Street, but as no railroad development has yet taken place it seems not unlikely that sufficient land can be obtained next the river for the boulevard. At its western end this new street would connect by a viaduct directly with the Sharpsburg bridge. 62. Main Street Grade Crossing.—The railroad grade crossing on Main Street (Sharpsburg), near North Canal Street, is pecu- liarly dangerous because the sudden angles in the street interrupt all view of the crossing until one is almost upon the tracks. No better way of separating the grades appears than to raise Main Street and carry it over the railroad. The railroad grade might be lowered somewhat but probably not enough to materially reduce the grade damages for filling on Main Street. A connection should be made from the bend just east of this crossing out to the riverside boulevard proposed above. (Section 61.) 63. Squaw Run Thoroughfare.—North from Claremont is the valley of Squaw Run with its branch Stonycamp Run. The thor- oughfare in this valley should be extended south to the Freeport Road and the proposed riverside boulevard. (Section 61.) 64. Carson Street.—South of the Ohio and Monongahela Rivers, Carson Street is a continuous thoroughfare from Ormsby, onthe east, to McKees Rocks and points down the Ohio River, on the west. All thoroughfare lines from the south and west feed into Carson Street and are thence distributed to the bridges lead- ing into the city proper. This street is of varying width, nowhere (except for ten blocks east of South Seventeenth Street) more than 50 feet and often much less. (a) From Brownsville Avenue to South Seventh Street the vehicle capacity of the street can be somewhat increased by removing the south sidewalk which is next to the railroad. This improvement, however, would not obviate the need for a general 80 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES widening of the whole street. The gradient from South First to South Fourth Street should be reduced by filling at the former end and cutting slightly at the latter. (b) From the Point bridge to Main Street (West End) West Carson Street is most in need of improvement and is at the same time most difficult to improve. Though much study has been put upon this problem, no plan has been hit upon less expensive or less difficult of accomplishment than a generous widening accom- panied by slight re-alignment. By widening entirely on the south side most of the property between the street and the Panhandle Railroad would be taken and what is left could be used for ware- houses, coal pockets and the like. The manufacturing property north of Carson Street would thus be undisturbed. (c) From the West End to Corliss Street, Carson Street is confined between two railroads. As there is no abutting property available for buildings, one sidewalk is sufficient and that could be reduced to a minimum width of 8 or 10 feet. Furthermore, as the street is for the most part well above the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie tracks the sidewalk might be bracketed out over the tracks, thus leaving a clear roadway of at least 48 feet. (d) From Corliss Street to McKees Rocks, West Carson Street can readily be widened on the southwest side. One sidewalk will still be sufficient. 65. Chartiers Avenue Grade Crossing —Chartiers and Island Avenues are the main connections from West Carson Street through McKees Rocks. Close to the junction of these streets, where the Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny Railroad crosses Chartiers Avenue at grade, the street should be raised and the tracks somewhat lowered to separate the grades. 66. Wind Gap Road.—The Wind Gap Road is the present thoroughfare from McKees Rocks to Ingram and Crafton. The connection with Chartiers Avenue should be improved by carrying the street on a viaduct over the creek and both the railroads in the valley, and then cutting an approach through, running about north, from Caughey Street to Chartiers Avenue. 67. Corliss Street—With the improvement of West Carson Street, its connection with Corliss Street becomes important. Corliss Street should be carried underneath both the Panhandle and the Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny tracks to West OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 81 Carson Street. Chartiers Avenue and Corliss Street will thus form a short line of fair gradient to the high portions of Sheraden and Esplen.* 68. Crafton Hillside Thoroughfare——From Main Street (West End) the Noblestown Road is a main thoroughfare on reasonable gradients to Carnegie and points south and east. From the sharp turn near Stratford Avenue (Chartiers township) a main branch into Crafton should follow the present street railway line. On the steep hillside it should be constructed as a three-level street, cars in the middle and a roadway on either side. 69. Crafton-Carnegie Connection —There is no direct connecting highway between Crafton and Carnegie. A street should be constructed from Ridge Avenue to Idlewood Avenue along the street car line just north of the Panhandle Railroad. 70. Washington Road.—Washington Road through Greentree borough is an important hilltop thoroughfare feeding into West Carson Street through the West End. From the hilltop down to Woodville Avenue it is undesirably steep. A new road should be built from the top of the hill running northward down the west bank of the valley, rounding the nose of the hill and running west about a thousand feet, then crossing the ravine on a viaduct and joining the Noblestown Road just west of West End Park. The gradient on such a road would not be over five per cent. 71. Sawmill Run Thoroughfare.— Sawmill Run valley offers a splendid opportunity for a connecting and radial thoroughfare from the West End to Bell Tavern and thence south to Fairhaven, Castle Shannon, and points beyond in Bethel, Snowden and Jefferson townships. Branching to the southwest would be at least two important valley thoroughfares, the Banksville and West Liberty Roads. Woodville Avenue, from the West End through Shalerville, is the start of such a thoroughfare. It should be improved and extended up the valley, past the Bell Tavern, to Oak Station and the Library Road. Such a thoroughfare should be designed as part of a boulevard system. The proposed traffic tunnel to the South Hills will come out in the valley between Mt. Washington and Beltzhoover, probably a little east of the south portal of the present street car tunnel. To serve its best purpose this traffic tunnel must have thorough- * This improvement is provided for in the current bond issue. ft Part IV, Section 7, page 119. 82 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES fare connections on reasonable gradients to all available land south of Mt. Washington and Allentown and east of Little Sawmill Run. The more important thoroughfare extensions from the tunnel are noted below, Sections 72 to 75 inclusive. 72. (a) Washington Avenue Improvement.—Washington Avenue forms too steep a line up to the tunnel from the valley thorough- fares—the West Liberty Road and the Sawmill Run Road PRICE'S HILL A plan showing the thoroughfare extensions from the proposed South Hills tunnel. Figures refer to the descriptive paragraphs in the text proposed above (Section 71). A reasonable gradient can be secured by raising the grade of the West Liberty Road north from the West Side Belt railroad bridge to Kaiser Avenue, thence running a bridge north across the valley, then climbing gradually northward along the hillside and joining Washington Avenue just below the Castle Shannon railroad bridge. Above this point Washington Avenue should be regraded by cutting at the top of the steep portion, thus getting an easy gradient to the new tunnel. (b) Southern Avenue Connection.— From a point just below OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 83 the Castle Shannon railroad bridge a branch connection should be run west across the valley to Boggs Avenue, about at Min- singer Street, thus connecting the new tunnel with Boggs and Southern Avenues leading to Mt. Washington. 73. (a) Beechview Thoroughfare.—The higher lands to the south, upon which most of the future development will take place, can best be reached by a street around the west end of the Beltzhoover ridge at, or slightly above, the level of the Castle Shannon railroad, about the location of the present Boggstown Avenue. From a point two or three hundred feet east of Sylvania Street a sloping viaduct should be run southwest up over the street railway bridge and the West Side Belt tracks to the nose of the opposite hill. From here a new street should be run west climbing gradually along the north slope of the hill to the high land at the northern end of Beechview. An extension of this line should then be made from Crane Street and Center Avenue southerly along the west side of the Beechview ridge joining Seventh Avenue just south of South Sharon Avenue. Beechview and the West Broadway thoroughfare, running south along the ridge, can thus be reached on a gradient under 4 per cent instead of 6% or 7 per cent along the present street car right-of-way, or considerably more than that on the present streets. The viaduct from Southern Avenue to Price’s Hill, proposed in the recent bond issue program, has been studied with some care, but the steep gra- dients it would require—6 per cent or over—to reach the hilltop land have led to its abandonment in favor of the plan just proposed. (b) West Broadway Extension.—West Broadway should be ex- tended along the present street car route from Snyder Street south to the junction of the Banksville and West Liberty Roads. (c) Lang Avenue Connection.—Starting again from the southerly end of the above proposed viaduct over Sawmill Run, a street should be built running south over the West Liberty road and striking the opposite hillside at or just above Lang Avenue. Southwest from here, nearly to Summerhill Street, Lang Avenue should be shifted slightly down the hillside to reduce its gradient from about 12 to 4 or § per cent. (d). Sawmill Run Hillside Thoroughfare. — Returning now to the northerly end of the proposed viaduct over Sawmill Run, the thoroughfare from Washington Avenue should be extended south 84 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES along the Castle Shannon railroad to the Library Road at Oak Station. The road should be built on the uphill side of the tracks to facilitate running branch roads to the high country east thereof. If the Sawmill Run valley. shall become park land* this new street will be a border drive with a commanding location overlooking the park. 74. Fairhaven County Road.— Just south of Fairhaven the county road climbs the hill to the Brownsville Road on a Io per cent gradient. This can easily be reduced one half by shifting the road a little west, down the hillside, and reaching the high land twelve hundred feet farther south. 75. Carrick Connection from the South Hills Tunnel. — Perhaps the most important district to be reached, via the proposed South Hills tunnel, is that tapped by the Brownsville Road, i. e. Mount Oliver, Lower Saint Clair, Carrick and most of Baldwin township. To serve this district requires a thoroughfare connection past the bad gradients of the Beltzhoover ridge, to Brownsville Road at or beyond Charles Street. There appear to be two possible routes for such a connection. The shorter is as follows; along Washington Avenue east to Curtin Avenue, thence diagonally southeast to Climax Street, along Climax Street widened to a point about 200 feet east of Allen Street and thence diagonally southeast and through a short tunnel under the ridge to the corner of Charles and Amanda Streets. Amanda Street connects south to the Brownsville Road; and Charles Street, if widened straight through to the Brownsville Road, would furnish a reasonably direct connection with Arlington Avenue leading along the ridge to the east. This route could probably be brought to a very reasonable gradient, say 3% per cent as a maximum. The other route is by a new street rising around the northerly end of the Beltzhoover ridge and connecting with Michigan Street. The latter would be widened and regraded, cutting through the two narrow ridges over which it now humps at Gear- ing Street and Estella Avenue. These streets would be carried over it by bridges at the present grade. The improved Michigan Street would be connected with Charles Street; and the latter would be widened and improved in gradient, with another separa- *Part IV, Section 7, page 119. OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 85 tion of grades at Knox Avenue where there is now a sharp hump in the Charles Street profile. Instead of following Charles Street through to a right-angle corner at Amanda, the thoroughfare might curve at the end so as to join Amanda Street a block or two farther south. This route is at least two thousand feet longer than the other, but if the mouth of the tunnel is not dropped too low, it can probably be brought to a maximum gradient of not over 3% per cent. In the absence of complete and accurate information as to grades and distances throughout these two routes, it is impossible to say which is to be preferred. If, upon further study on the basis of reliable topographical data, it should develop that a materially better gradient can be secured by the longer route, that line would be the more desirable. But if the saving in gradient should prove to be very slight, perhaps not more than a third or a half of one percent, it is believed that the shorter route, that via Climax Street, should be adopted. 76. Arlington Avenue and Washington Avenue Connection.—Arling- ton Avenue is the direct road east from the junction of Wash- ington Avenue and the Brownsville Road, but between this point and South Eighteenth Street it has two bad gradients, 7 per cent and over. To get a good cross-town connection without such gradients and at the same time to give better access to the Mount Oliver incline, Washington Avenue should be widened east from the Knoxville incline to Amanda Street,* and thence cut through on a curve to the corner of Angelo and Mount Oliver Streets. By widening Mount Oliver and Freeland Streets, by rounding off the east corner of Amanda and Freeland Streets and by cutting back the southwest corner of Freeland and South Eighteenth Streets, a nearly level, though somewhat circuitous, connection can be secured between Washington Avenue on the west and Arlington Avenue on the east. 77. South Eighteenth Street—Plans have been proposed, by the Bureau of Surveys, to widen, pave and otherwise improve South Eighteenth Street from the South Side up the hill to Arlington Avenue. The gradient, which is now about 7 per cent, cannot be improved without very radical and costly changes in the street location; and since the proposed South Hills tunnel will reach, on easy gradients, practically all the hilltop territory now served by * Improvement to this point is provided in the current bond issue. 86 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES South Eighteenth Street, the trouble and cost of materially reducing the South Eighteenth Street gradient seems hardly justified. The plans of the Bureau of Surveys propose a roadway width of 40 feet with two sidewalks each 10 feet wide in some places and in others 7% feet. This means a widening of from § to 20 feet. As this entire section of South Eighteenth Street is on a hillside mostly steeper than one in three, such widening will require from 2 to 7 feet of additional retaining wall, or excessive cutting and filling, LL which means large {J Pe st. damage to property in the vicinity. Fur- thermore, the ad- jacent hillsides are so steep that no extensive develop- _ WHARTON ST. SARAH E.CARSON | ST. »R. — SIDNEY, | Bo = ment of abutting - property is likely to take place. Diagram No. 13. Twenty-second Street bridge In consideration abprenchs Gout side of all these points it is urged that’ a width of not less than 45 feet nor more than 50 feet be adopted in the improvement plans. This will give a roadway 35 feet and one sidewalk 10 feet or more in width. 78. Brownsville Road.—The Brownsville Road, climbing the hill from Carson Street, is similarly situated. Any improvements which may be contemplated therein should be governed by the same considerations as those cited above in connection with South Eighteenth Street. 79. South Tenth Street.—From the south end of the Tenth Street bridge to Muriel Street, South Tenth Street is cramped down to a total width of 45 feet, with a roadway only 26% feet wide, because of a freight area 10 or 12 feet wide next to the Oliver Iron and Steel Company building. This area should be covered and the street widened. 80. Iwenty-Second Street Bridge Approach—South Side. —The approach from East Carson Street to the Twenty-second Street bridge is cramped and crooked. The corner from the bridge into OUTLYING IMPROVEMENTS 87 Wharton Street should be rounded back and an additional approach should be run along the east side of the playground. Some additional playground space can be secured by closing Sidney Street, between South Twenty-second Street and South Twenty-third Street, except for pedestrians. (Diagram No. 12.) Several other changes in the outlying thoroughfares are marked in red on the accompanying plan but are not specifically noted in this report. They are suggested changes to improve certain steep gradients but have not been thoroughly studied on the ground. 88 PITTSBURGH—MAIN THOROUGHFARES SUBJECT INDEX TO OUTLYING THOROUGHFARE IMPROVEMENTS . SECTION PAGE Allegheny River Boulevard . . 2... 1... 2. eee eee 61 79 Ardmore Thoroughfare... 2... ee ee ee ees 42 73 Arlington Avenue and Washington Avenue Connection. . . 76 85 Aspinwall Bridge. 3 i. soe eh we Em A Se ee es 10 59 BataviacS treet: 5. ace acura hate A ee eh we Ga > iP Se wes ce a A 33 71 Bates Run Connection .......- eee ee eee 15 63 Baum Street Improvement. .......-.- 2+ +e eee 20 65 Beechview Thoroughfare .... 1... ee eee ee 73a 83 Beechwood Boulevard Connection .........+.-+.--. 28 68 Beechwood Boulevard Re-alignment ..........-. 31 70 Bell Avenue Extension. ...... 2-56.50 e+ eee 41 73 Boundary Street Improvement. ........-...4.-. 29 69 Braddock Avenue—Northerly End... .......2.. 36 72 Braddock Avenue Viaduct... 2... 1 eee eee ee 37 72 Brighton Road Viaduct . .... 2... ee eee ene 53 76 Brownsville Road 2... 1 we eee et ee te 78 86 Butler Street Improvement .........-+-+++8-4 8 59 California Avenue and Brighton Road Extension. ..... 52 75 Carrick Connection from the South Hills Tunnel. . .. . . 75 84 Carson: Street. i: hs es ele a we ee we 64 79 Center Avenue Improvement ..........2.2.+4e6-. 21 65 Chartiers Avenue Grade Crossing ............ 65 80 Corliss: Street 2 es ak ae a Ss ee a a as 67 80 Crafton-Carnegie Connection ..........6.06-. 69 81 Crafton Hillside Thoroughfare. . ........-+-4--. 68 81 Dravosburg and Mifflin Township Thoroughfare... ... 47 74 Ditquesne: Bridges: a0 eo eR ak ce we eS a OS 51 75 Bast Ohio: Street. ja o3. 3 Sa Se ae Ese ele ews ele 57 77 Bast Street ols: sc tty fae tat 2 gon Beye cae Fes aio ese el a Pe 54 76 Eighth Avenue Branch to Dravosburg. .......... 50 75 Eighth Avenue Branch Westward ........+e 22 49 75 Eighth Avenue Improvement ...........+4- 48 75 Ellsworth Avenue Extension. . ... 1... 4.5. se eae 13 62 Etna: Imiprovement: Carson Streets ¢ 4 eosao6 2a es ela late we we Rm we es 79 65 Chartiers Avenue Grade Crossing... . 1.2... ee ee eee 80 66 Wind Gap Road . «x2 2 ee 8 a ee a we we Hw 80 67 Corliss Streets ns eG eS PR SY eae Pe Rw Rw 4 80 68 Crafton Hillside Thoroughfare ...........6.24-+-0-+25 81 ‘6g Crafton-Carnegie Connection. . . 2... 1 we eee ee ee 81 yo Washington Road... 1 1. ee ee ee es 81 ‘71 Sawmill Run Thoroughfare. . 2... 2. we ee es 81 72a Washington Avenue Improvement. .. . 2... 1. eee ee ee 82 -72b Southern Avenue Connection... 2... 2 ee eee ee ee 82 73a Beechview Thoroughfare... 2 2 1 1 ee eee ee ee te 83 73b West Broadway Extension . . . 1. 2. ee eee ee et ee ee 83 73c Lang Avenue Connection. . . 2 6 2 ee ee ee ee ee ee 83 73d Sawmill Run Hillside Thoroughfare... .. 0... ee eee, 83 74 Fairhaven County Road . . 1 1 1 1 ee ee ee ee ee 84. 75 Carrick Connection from the South Hills Tunnel . 2... 7... 84 -76 Arlington Avenue and Washington Avenue Connection ..... . 85 ‘77 South Eighteenth Street . 2. 6 6 ee ee ee ee ee ee ee 85 ‘78 Brownsville Road... 1 1. ee ee ee 86 79 South Tenth Street . 2... 2 eee ee ee ee 86 8o Twenty-second Street Bridge Approach—South Side ....... 86 LOCATION MAP FOR 80 IMPROVEMENTS IN THE OUTLYING THOROUGHFARES (ATTACHED OPPOSITE THIS PAGE 92) }NO pjoj PART III Surveys and a City Plan O CITY of equal size in America, or perhaps in the world, is compelled to adapt its growth to such a diffi- cult complication of high ridges, deep valleys, and pre- cipitous slopes, as Pittsburgh. By consequence no other city has Pittsburgh's such imperative need of accurate and comprehen- Need for Surveys S!Ve surveys, as a basis for the layout of streets, sewers, and all public works, for the purpose of avoiding the extravagant mistakes, misfits, and reconstructions that are bound to result from groping, piecemeal work done amidst such obstacles. New York, Baltimore, Washington and other American cities, where the need is far less crying than in Pittsburgh, have awak- ened to the importance of modern, accurate and comprehensive topographical maps as a basis for the intelligent and economical planning of public improvements, and have provided themselves therewith. But Pittsburgh, having less excuse for the omission and paying a heavier penalty for the blunders to which it gives rise, lags in the same class with too many unprogressive cities in this country where the official surveys are merely incomplete and casual records of streets, properties and public works, gradually accumulated through a long series of years. These records con- sist, for the most part, of independent piecemeal surveys of all degrees of accuracy and inaccuracy, made for all sorts of purposes, and of compilations and transcripts of these piecemeal records patched together in attempts to reconcile irreconcilable data. It is not necessary to give a long list of examples of the incom- pleteness and the inaccuracy of much of the old data of which the Bureau of Surveys is the official repository in Pittsburgh. Every surveyor and engineer in Pittsburgh with whom I have talked, whose work has given him occasion to use this data, is familiar with the conditions; with the fact that the tapes used in the original surveys of different parts of the city differed in length and that (93) 94 PITTSBURGH—SURVEYS AND A CITY PLAN the errors were never compensated, so that today, measurements in different parts of the city have to be made with special tapes of particular degrees of inaccuracy in order to conform to the records; with the fact that independent bench marks are used in different parts of the city and that discrepancies of several feet, and sometimes of unknown amount, in elevation occur in the records of adjacent or intersecting streets; with the fact that an extraordinarily large proportion of the streets are not marked by any permanent monuments, and that there is no adequate system for protecting the monuments that do exist, so that the City often has no sure recourse against abutting owners who have encroached upon a street; and finally, that no general official surveys whatever exist of the complicated topography of the undeveloped areas. And yet through these undeveloped areas, streets and sewers and other public works are almost daily being extended without know- ledge of what lies beyond, although from the back regions soon to be developed, somehow, sometime, outlets must be provided. The city charter places upon the Bureau of Surveys the oner- ous and important duty of reporting favorably or unfavorably to Councils upon the plan of every new street proposed to be laid out by any one whomsoever within the city; yet the Bureau, pre- sumably through lack of funds, has never had the data in hand upon which alone such a report could be intelligently based. No criticism of the present Bureau, or indeed of its prede- cessors, is intended in these remarks. The blame falls upon the whole system of penny-wise, pound-foolish, hand-to-mouth pro- cedure in regard to city surveys that has been characteristic of a large proportion of American cities in the past, and of Pittsburgh with the rest. It is earnestly recommended that Pittsburgh should take example from the cities of Europe and from such American cities as New York, Baltimore and Washington. And because its peculiar topography is bound to make the evil results of unpro- gressive medieval methods more serious than in other cities, it should take the pains to surpass, rather than to lag far behind, in this respect. In outline the objects to be secured are these: (a) An accurate framework of reference points needs to be established, including: 1. The gradual systematic setting of permanent street monuments throughout Objects To Be Secured TECHNICAL PROCEDURE 95 the city to serve as reference points for the definite determination of street locations and for all public and private local surveys. 2. The accurate determination of the locations and elevations of these and other monuments and bench marks in reference to a single general system of codrdinates and in reference to the United States Government bench. 3. As a means of accomplish- ing these ends, an accurate geodetic triangulation of the district, supplemented by the necessary precise traverse work and precise leveling, all fully checked and compensated for errors. (2) The existing local surveys and records need to be tied into the accurate framework thus established, and in cases which show deficiencies or discrepancies beyond a reasonable and care- fully defined standard of accuracy, they need to be gradually, in due turn, re-surveyed and re-plotted. (c) Complete topographical maps, based upon the framework first described, should be prepared upon some uniform system beginning in those sections where public works are immediately contemplated and gradually extended so as to cover the whole area into which the city’s growth is likely to spread. In the facts which would be gathered in the above process, and only in such facts, can a safe basis be found for plans that will provide the most economical and effective layout of new streets, sewers, parks, water system—in short for a city plan that will minimize the total draft on the taxpayers for public works and give the maximum results for money expended. The actual steps of technical procedure called for, in addition to the present routine work of the Bureau of Surveys, appear to be about as listed below. I omit at this point any consideration of the method of deciding on the plans for future improvements—the city plan- ning proper, which would be based on the surveys—or of the procedure for enforcing any part of a city plan when adopted, and consider only the work of recording and mapping. The steps that are mentioned last are more or less dependent upon those mentioned first, for any given area of the city, but the several steps of the work would be carried on more or less simultaneously, and some of the results would become available for use at once. 1. The establishment of reference points by triangulation and precise traversing and leveling throughout the Technical Procedure 96 PITTSBURGH—SURVEYS AND A CITY PLAN district, and the reduction of these points to a general coordinate system. 2. The surveying, in relation to the new codrdinate system, of existing street monuments and reference points, and of existing buildings, fences, bound-stones, and other evidences of ownership; and the preparation of general topographical maps. 3. The determination of the correct location of the legal boun- daries of streets and public properties, and the translation of the old descriptions, running lines, etc., into terms of correct descriptions related to the new codrdinate system. 4. The verifi- cation or correction of the legally established street profiles in terms consistent with the real distances and levels. 5. The setting of additional street monuments. 6. The draughting and pub- lication of maps. The maps might ultimately include the following features, every one of which is to be found in the maps of one or another of the progressive cities of this country and Europe, and many of them in all. (a) A general one-sheet map of the city and vicinity, showing the streets, the boundaries of civil divisions, the codrdinate system, and the locations of primary reference points and bench marks. This will serve as an index to the maps on a larger scale. (5) A general topographical map in sections, to be published by lithography, one sheet at a time as completed, on a scale of (say) 200 feet to the inch, showing all existing streets and roads, buildings, property lines, surface grades (by contours and points) and other topographical features, and all monuments and benches. This might be, and should be, so arranged that new and corrected editions of individual sheets could be gotten out at reasonably frequent intervals so as to keep it permanently up to date. Moreover it could well be made to serve all the purposes of the inaccurate but useful real estate atlases now gotten out by private enterprise. A charge of (say) twenty-five cents a sheet would cover the cost of printing, and, if some form of loose-leaf atlas cover were gotten out into which new editions of single sheets could be inserted, the public could obtain, at no extra cost to the city, and fora price about equal to that charged for the ordinary real estate atlas, a much more useful and accurate and up-to-date volume. Of course this map would serve all the purposes of the assessors’ maps far better than anything they have now, and, if Maps MAPS 97 experience in other cities is any criterion, would lead to the dis- covery of a good deal of untaxed property. To accomplish the above purposes the best method of repro- duction would probably be to have the maps engraved on alumi- num sheets, from which transfers can be quickly and cheaply made at any time to a lithographic stone for printing. Such sheets can be readily and indefinitely corrected. (c) Record sheets at a much larger scale, showing all the information contained on the small scale sheets and also construc- tion details relating to public properties, especially streets, such as Pipes, sewers, conduits, etc.; to be prepared at first for limited areas only but gradually extended. (d) A system of indexing and filing, to include, to keep track of, and to keep up to date, the records of existing physical con- ditions in areas covered by the surveys. This would include keep- ing track of the legal instruments affecting the physical condi- tions within streets and other public properties, or affecting the control over them; such as deeds, ordinances, and other instru- ments relating to the layout and grades of streets, permits and franchises for the construction or maintenance of anything within them, executive orders for new constructions or changes, and inspectors’ reports of new constructions and changes actually made. Asa part of this indexing and correcting system, provi- sion could readily be made for periodical transmission of infor- mation as to changes in property ownership from the Assessors’ Office (originally from the Registry of Deeds) to the Bureau of Surveys, so as to permit keeping the record maps always up to date and accurate. By means of similar transmission of records from the office of the Building Inspector, the record maps could be kept up to date with respect to new buildings. A typewritten multigraph notice of changes and corrections from all sources, made on the record sheets, could be mailed monthly to all the city Bureaus and others having sets of prints, and at longer intervals new and corrected prints of certain sheets would be offered. This would be the same general plan that is followed in regard to changes and corrections on the charts of the Coast Survey and the official Coast Pilot books, where the Notices to Mariners are issued periodically from the Hydrographic Office, and summed up at longer intervals by new editions of the several 98 PITTSBURGH—SURVEYS AND A CITY PLAN volumes and of the various charts stamped to show the dates to which they are corrected. It would seem advisable to put a first-class man of broad experience and ability in charge; to establish a new division under the Bureau of Surveys, coérdi- nate with the existing force, which is dealing with the current routine work, but distinct from it; and to go at the work with an annual appropriation amounting, after the first six months or so devoted to organization, to say $50,000 a year until the arrears of work shall have been cleaned up. The following data in regard to the topographical survey work of New York and of Baltimore is of considerable interest in this connection. There are on file in the office of the Civic Commission single copies showing the kind of sectional topographical maps published by the official surveys of New York, of Baltimore, of the District of Columbia and of Zurich, Switzerland (representing European cities); and a sheet of the large-sized detailed sectional map published by the City of Paris, which covers the whole city at the scale of i> or about 40 feet to the inch. In the City of New York, for the first four years after the consolidation in 1898, the work of pre- paring a comprehensive topographical map, and, upon the basis thereof, a general plan of streets, was in the hands of the Board of Public Improvements; but most of the work has been done since the establishment of independent Topographical Bureaus in 1902. It is now proposed by the Comptroller that the Bureaus of the several Boroughs be again centralized under the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. The triangulation, upon which the whole work depends, was done in coéperation with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. The following tables indicate the magnitude of the work and the amounts expended up to December 31, 1909, the force required to prosecute the work and a detailed analysis of the cost of the work in the Borough of Queens. The last table is taken from a report of Assistant Engineer H. K. Endemann to W. C. Elliott, Engineer-in-charge. In the first table, no data are given as to Manhattan and Brooklyn because of the abnormal conditions which they present. Management and Cost Sample Maps New York NEW YORK AMOUNT AND COST OF WORK 99 : Bronx Queens Richmond Totals | Population (1910) . . . - i 430,980 283,041 85,969 Total area in acres... 2... 1.) © 26,523 75,11 36,480 138,114 Triangulation (in acres) . 2... . ‘| 26,523 75,111 36,480 138,114 Topographical Survey (in acres). . . . 26,523 55,188 18,430 100,141 Tentative Street Maps Approved (in acres), 18,700 19,661 6,300 44,661 Final Maps Adopted (in acres) .. .. 13,000 9,912 6,300 29,212 Expenditures 1902-1909... - . . . | $779,916 |$1,281,946 | $839,975 | $2,901,837 Recommended for 1910... .. 2... $160,395 $362,752 | $218,000 $705,147 On March 31, 1910, the forces of the several topographical Bureaus of New York were as follows: Bronx Queens Brooklyn | Richmond Totals Engineers in charge and principal assistant engineers. ....... I 2 2 I 6 Assistant engineers ........ 17 15 16 17 65 Transitmen, computers and draftsmen 26 53 17 41 137 Chainmen, rodmen, axemen and levelers.s ss 8 we %) BS we eee 21 18 12 17 68 Clerical). 6) aie esas eo ee ah ee 3 6 5 2 16 aDOrers: 2 oc) aie: Bo cag eros Vetoes 7 62 II 25 105 Foremen, drivers and others . . . . 3 15 2 8 28 Total) tessa 4g ese, at OS 78 171 65 III 425 Expenses recommended for 1910. . . | $160,395 | $326,752 | $80,000 | $218,000 | $785,147 The work is expected to be so far advanced as to permit of material reductions in the present staffs at the following dates: in the Bronx, December 1911; in Queens, April 1915; in Brooklyn, April 1913; in Richmond, June rgr1. A detailed analysis of the cost of the work in the Borough of Queens, dated October 14, 1910, is subjoined : Cost per acre to date Estimated cost per acre of completed work Field. . . . $8 13 Topographical Survey including prep- Office aration of maps of street system and grades... 1 ee ee eee ee Total. . . Field Monumenting, including final traversing Office. . and preparation of final map sec- TONS! 4.5% Bok HR 8 8) Sah at sehen Total 2 23 . $10 36*) . $27 92 10 89 . $38 81% Field . . Office. ... Total. . Field . . Office. . .. Total. . - . $8 06 2 23 . . $10 29* . . $20 44 7 89 - . $28 33* *The difference between the cost per acre to date and the estimated cost per acre of completed work is due to the initial cost of organization and to the cost of general work, such as triangulation and traversing, which must be done at the start for the whole or most of the area to be surveyed. too PITTSBURGH—SURVEYS AND A CITY PLAN In Baltimore the work of preparing an accurate and comprehensive topographical and property map was begun in 1893 by a Topographical Survey Commission created for the purpose. The area completely mapped was about thirty square miles although the triangulation necessarily extended over a considerably larger area. The first two-thirds of the area mapped was completed in about two years; the cost, including all field work, office work, draughting, and publication, was about $5,000 per square mile. Allowing for the normally higher costs of all work in New York as compared with Baltimore, and allowing for the fact that the Baltimore figures include little if any street monumenting or final record maps of layout, this figure cor- responds very closely with the cost of $10.29 per acre or $6,585.60 per square mile reported fromthe Borough of Queens. Baltimore PART IV Notes on Parks and Recreation Faciltties District, and for improving the entrance to Schenley Park, have been studied with some care. Two plans are herewith submitted (Plan A and Plan B), the essential difference between them being that Plan A contemplates scarcely more than the improvement of the existing layout, while Plan B involves a radical change of design, and absolutely requires, for its happy execution, a control of develop- ments on the Frick property north of Forbes Street. In Plan A the ravine between the Carnegie Institute and Forbes Field is not filled up but is enlarged. The bridge over the ravine remains, but the present driveway entrance from Forbes Street is moved 50 or 60 feet east, to give room for a double row of trees to screen the Forbes Field grandstand. This road is continued south from the end of the stone bride to Bates and Boquet Streets, thus gaining a direct connection to the Oakland District. Another driving entrance is shown east of the ravine to accommodate travel from the East End through Bellefield, Dithridge and Forbes Streets. Bellefield Street is widened and Tennyson Avenue is extended from Fifth Avenue to Forbes Street, in order to give a more fitting approach to the Institute. And finally, an appropriate setting is provided for the front of the Institute by a small plaza surrounded by public or quasi-public buildings. It may be noted that one of these buildings, the stone church on Dithridge Street, already exists, but it is nearly hidden from Forbes Street by cheap wooden buildings and signboards. It cannot be denied that the approach from Grant Boulevard to Schenley Park remains rather indirect, and even with the Bates Street extension there is a lack of obvious justification for the bridge location. It must be granted, however, that this bridge in itself is very attractive; and the whole scene, the little (101) Po:: for a grouping of public buildings in the Bellefield The Bellefield Improvement 102 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES valley with its informal groups of shrubbery and trees, spanned at one end by astone bridge, is extremely interesting and picto- rial and peculiarly characteristic of the Pittsburgh topography. The novelty of such a scene, in contrast to the stiff formality of \\ FORBES FIELD ! . URGH 4SSION | BELLEFIELD IMPROVEMENT PLAN A THE BELLEFIELD IMPROVEMENT 103 the city all about, gives it not a little value, and there is reason- able doubt if it should not be saved even at some sacrifice. An increased use of this valley would give further reason for its preservation; and the proposed taking of Junction Hollow for park purposes (discussed below) furnishes the opportunity. By carrying an informal park treatment from the valley below up the ravine and under the bridge to Forbes Street, and by having plenty of walks and benches and attractive plant- ing therein, this ravine becomes an interesting and in- viting branch of the i os park, and serves Rae | ns SR a A also as an informal University Buildings at Berlin, suggestive of the grouping entrance to the proposed at the entrance to Schenley Park lower park levels such as Junction and Panther Hollows. The use and the value of the ravine are thus materially increased. In plan B the ravine is filled and the bridge abandoned. The present Grant Boulevard approach is changed to a more direct and dignified approach from Fifth Avenue and the Boulevard by widening Tennyson Avenue and cutting a broad street through from Fifth Avenue and Tennyson to Forbes Street on the axis of the new park entrance. This new entrance is a formal court enclosed by the Carnegie Institute on the east, by proposed public buildings on the north and west, and by a terrace over- looking the valley, on the south. By narrowing the area between the Institute and Forbes Field, a court of good proportions is obtained, and ample space is left on land already owned by the City for the enclosing building on the west. The strong axial approach in reality extends the park entrance to Fifth Avenue; and the court at Forbes Street, while adding to the dignity and character of this entrance, becomes a fitting plaza around which will be grouped the buildings of a public character. At the southern end of this court are the terrace, overlooking the park to the south, and the two driving entrances, one over Junction 104 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES Hollow bridge as at present and the other skirting down the west bank of Junction Hollow and joining the new Boundary Street (mentioned below), and thence entering the present park through Panther Hollow. PITTSBURGH CIVIC COF SSION BELLEFIELD IMPROVEMENT PLAN B SCALE 200 FREDERICK LAW TANT ON & 400 uc OLMSTED i h { ITY PLANNING jf iN THE BELLEFIELD IMPROVEMENT 105 The parking of Junction Hollow is indicated in both plans, A and B. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad proposed several years ago to relocate and lower its tracks in Junction Hollow and to abandon its present roadbed to the City as compensation for the streets and other city property to be occupied by the new railroad right-of-way. The present roadbed would become a cross-town thoroughfare* (Boundary Street) and the railroad would be in a cut just west of the street. This whole scheme has many advantages both to the railroad and to the City, and it is to be hoped that it may soon be realized. A careful investiga- tion has shown that the Baltimore & Ohio owns such portions and only such portions of the valley as it may need to carry out this plan; and it is also reasonably certain that the Railroad does not contemplate using the wide portion of the valley—where the Italian settlement now is—for freight or storage yards. This whole valley is so closely associated topographically with Schen- ley Park, it plays so important a part in many of the views from the Park,— from the entrance, from the Junction Hol- low bridge, from Panther Hollow and the Panther Hollow bridge,— that its control is of very real moment as a means of rais- ing the value of the western por- tion of Schenley Park. Incidently it can be madea very attractive and valuable park unit in itself. On the whole, the entire valley from Forbes Street to Wilmot Street, and possibly beyond, should be controlled, and the taking should extend to the top of the west bank. In the narrow portion opposite Panther Hollow the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad owns to the top of the west bank, but undoubtedly it will be willing to release to Junction Hollow at Schenley Park entrance *Part II, Section 29, p. 69. 106 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES the City such portions of this bank as are not required by its relocation plans; or, if not, some agreement should be reached whereby this wooded bank will be saved from unneces- sary defacement. In conclusion, it should be noted that Plan A, although it shows some new buildings on private land, would be reasonably satisfactory without them. It is a plan which does not change the present design‘and one which can be carried out without the coéperation of private landowners in the development of adja- cent properties. Plan B on the other hand involves a radical change in the park design, and furthermore it absolutely requires the codperation of Mr. Frick in the development of his property between Forbes Street and Fifth Avenue, or the acquirement of that property by the City. Although it is not ordinarily a good public policy to make radical changes in a park design already established, the improve- ments thereby obtained are sometimes so positive and important that the procedure is fully justified. It is believed that the radi- cal changes proposed in Plan B are fully justified by the value of the improvement attained. This street—a boulevard by courtesy—has un- doubtedly more than justified the large cost of its construction by supplying a much-needed route for automobiles and other fast-moving travel—largely passenger vehicles—between the East End and the down town district. But it is to be re- gretted that a little more foresight was not evidenced in planning this work; that a better appreciation was not shown of the splendid opportunities offered and of incidental purposes to be served. Located as it is at a commanding height on a steep hill- side with an impressive outlook over the Allegheny Valley and the hills beyond, and with little chance to develop a commercial front- age, this street seems peculiarly fitted to be a real pleasure way in fact as well as in name. But instead it has been built without even room for shade trees; it is a mere street, in all appearances like any other traffic way of the city, and no more generous in its width than Fifth Avenue or Smithfield Street; and the unkempt, sordid appearance of the slumping hillsides above is an. ever- present eyesore. In view of these facts it is urged ciae the following improve- Grant Boulevard GRANT BOULEVARD 107 ments be made in Grant Boulevard: First, enough additional width should be obtained, where the value of frontage or the character of the land does not make it impracticable, to provide for a planting-strip with shade trees on either side of the road- way. Second, additional width should be secured at certain points along the street, where the opportunity seems most favorable, in order to provide special tree-shaded promenades or overlook terraces, where people may stroll amidst comfortable and agree- able surroundings, or sit upon benches and watch the passing stream of travel or look out upon the broad, distant views. Third, the steep hillsides above the Boulevard, at least those which do not have and are not likely to have in the future any appreciable commercial value, should be con- trolled by the City and reclaimed from their present status as free dumping- grounds and barren wastes. These hill- d sides are in fact so Suggestion from Lausanne for treatment of a bluff closely related to the Boulevard that their appearance is of almost equal import, in the value of the street as a pleasure thoroughfare, with the treatment of the street itself. Neatly kept banks, partially covered with trees and shrubs, would go far toward making this street a boulevard in fact as well as in name. Finally, where the slopes are too steep to stand securely at all times of year and in all kinds of weather, retaining walls should be built to prevent the slumping of clayey hillsides into the road, and the more danger- ous falling of large pieces of stone from the disintegrating cliffs. Except for the western portion, the banks are seldom steep enough to require a wall of more than ten feet or so in height, even if the street is widened fifteen or twenty feet; but west of the line of Kirkpatrick Street the bank becomes steeper and is partially supported by strata of rather firm shale. It is where the bank is almost precipitous for a height of 30 to 60 feet that the 108 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES problem becomes difficult. A regular retaining wall of that height would be a tremendous undertaking and would look none too well in the bargain. It may be noted, however, that these cliffs are not solid ledges of shale, but are composed of separate layers, or strata, of pretty firm shale, between which are layers of loose dis- integrated stone and earthy material. It is believed that advan- tage can be taken of this formation, and that all the necessary retaining can be done by several low walls, built one upon each stratum of ledge, and extending up to the bottom of the next solid stratum above. Each wall would thus retain only the few Terraced gardens at Bern, effectively using the opportunity offered by steeply sloping land feet of loose material between two solid strata, and it need not, therefore, be very thick or heavy; and in addition to the work of retaining, each little wall would act as a support for the shale stratum above. Such a device would require less than a quarter of the volume of masonry needed for one large retaining wall. Furthermore, if each little wall, instead of being built directly over the one below it, were set back a foot or two, or even more, as circumstances might require, and if small ledges and pockets were thus left, where little shrubs and vines and other clinging plants could be grown; and if great pains were taken to avoid the stiff monotony of regular cut masonry, it will be possible to make this utilitarian construction a feature of interest and beauty. STEEP HILLSIDES 109 The problem of making use of the excessively steep hillsides in the Pittsburgh District is a troublesome one. There is a great deal of such land in the district, amounting, outside of the flat regions of East Liberty and the down town districts, to as much as 30 to 35 per cent of the total area.* Gener- ally speaking, the slopes are of little value for business purposes and are not well adapted to residential use, the cost of develop- ment being excessive in proportion to the location value of the improved property. The market prices are naturally low, especi- ally for the steeper and rougher slopes and peaks and gulleys; and there the owners of very many of these unavailable proper- ties have been delinquent in their taxes for so many years that the accumulation of taxes and costs of attempted collection form a lien that is much larger than the owner’s equity in the property or even than its total value. Asa rule these ‘‘unavailable areas” are unoccupied and unproductive, and are mainly held by owners not resident in the locality, whose sole interest in them is in the hope—sometimes a for- lorn hope—of an ultimate speculative profit. In far too many cases they are apt to be wholly uncared for and to become shabby, dirty, and altogether un- sightly, depreciating ad- jacent property and con- tributing largely to the : is = slatternly conditions in Hillside road in a park at Nice the midst of which so Steep Hillsides Hillside Suggestion from Nice—Easy gradients and beauty *See map between Preface and Introduction. 110 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES Steep hillside in Bern, made available for public use and enjoyment many of Pittsburgh’s working people, no matter how self-respect- ing and personally cleanly, are compelled to live. The condition is a deplorable one from every point of view, and it is of great importance that steps should be taken to alter it. Where they are really worth developing for private occupa- tion, so as to become useful and productive, such lands ought generally to be so improved; in the many other instances where Hillside path at Nice, laid out to avoid steep gradients STEEP HILLSIDES III to follow such a course would be for the owners to throw good money after bad, the City ought to step in and assume the burden of maintaining the land in a decent and attractive condition, con- verting it from a public nuisance into a park asset of positive value to the public. To advance this end the City ought to pursue a definitely active policy in the matter. First, it should systematically insist upon the maintenance of all such vacant lands in a clean and orderly condition, and, upon the failure of any owner to perform the duty, it should declare the condition of the lot a nuisance, clean it up, and make the cost a lien upon the property. Second, it should entirely re- form the procedure with respect to the collection of delin- quent taxes and other public liens; instead of allowing them to run on indefinitely with accumulating costs, it should enforce a prompt settlement L ak or demand the sale An overlook terrace at Lyons of the property for taxes. Third, it should deliberately acquire considerable areas of the lands in question, by tax sale, private purchase or condemnation, having due regard, in selecting the lands for acquisition, for their relative adaptability to public and to private use. Generally speaking, these steeper and more irregular pieces will be of greater use to the public than they could be to private occupants. It must be noted, however, that their value for recreation is distinctly limited. They cannot adequately or economically supply the local needs for playfields, out-door gymnasiums and the like; and as isolated fragments they cannot, of course, fulfill the functions of large rural parks. It is possible, however, to lay out sidehill walks on easy gradients and to furnish seats and terraces, especially near the upper edge of such declivi- ties, where the people of the neighborhood can stroll and rest 112 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES and enjoy interesting and extensive views over the city, the river or the adjacent valley; always with the steep natural hillside below Precipitous hillside in Paris, planted and cared for by the City as a foreground. Such areas, for instance, as the rug- ged slope under Bluff Street, or the precipitous land south of West Car- son Street should be under public control. Hillsides less conspicuous, less striking in their characteristics, and offering inferior op- portunities of outlook—while in themselves, perhaps, of doubtful value to the city—should be taken over rather than allowed to become positively injurious features in private hands. In other cases, unless their cost is practically nothing, and there is no apparent probability of future tax-paying development, the City could hardly afford to purchase and maintain them. terracing, planting and care fy 4 Hillside at Meissen, made useful and attractive by GENERAL DISCUSSION OF PARKS In any city closely built over a large area, public parks or recreation grounds become one of the most urgent civic needs, if the health and vigor of the people are to be maintained. And the most important classes to provide for are the children and the women of the wage-earning families; most important, not only because of their numbers and of the direct influence of their health and vigor upon the efficiency of the coming generation, but also because they, least of all, have energy and opportunity to seek out healthful recreation at a distance. Normally it requires two distinct kinds of recreation grounds to supply the needs of these people,—the local or neighborhood park for frequent and regular use, and the rural park for occasional holiday enjoyment. The size and form and character most desirable for neighborhood recreation grounds depend upon the functions to be performed by each. Some of the activities in the best developed playgrounds, as for example in Chicago, are these: (1) The playing of little children in sand- piles and upon the lawn, under the watchful guidance of an attendant who not only keeps them out of danger and mischief, but plays with them, tells them stories and stimulates the healthy activity of their little minds and bodies. Here the mothers may come with their children and remain to watch them play or leave them in safety. A plot one hundred feet square may be of value for such uses. (2) For boys of larger growth and men and for girls and women, the more active games with and without apparatus, in the open air and under cover, always with opportunity and inducement to bathe, and, if possible, with a swimming-pool. Sometimes space is found for the big field games and regular athletic sports on a running track; sometimes for nothing that takes more space than basketball. (3) For the older and the less active people, pleasant shaded walks for strolling and benches to sit upon amid agreeable surroundings, with opportunity to see the youngsters play, and once or twice a week, perhaps, to enjoy a band concert. (4) For the use of all, a field house where the sanitary accommodations are kept to a standard of cleanliness and order that sets a good example to the neighborhood, where a reading-room branch of the public library is available, and in which one or more large rooms are at the disposal of the (113) Neighborhood Parks 114 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES neighborhood for lectures, entertainments and dances. Clean, healthy recreation may thus be given full play amid decent sur- roundings instead of being driven to saloons, to vicious or questionable dance-halls and other baneful establishments for the commercial exploitation of the spirit of play. Of perhaps first importance in the planning of local parks is the problem of distribution—accessibility to the people served. Practically there are few women or small children who will take the trouble habitually to walk much more than a quarter of a mile to a playground or local park for exercise or rest, and for most a carfare is out of the question. This means that, ideally, there should be neighborhood recreation centers not more than a quarter or at most a half mile from every home in the city. As for the total area desired for local parks, it is so seldom possible to get enough that there is little danger of overdoing the purchase; and the extremely limited experience of any of our cities renders any definite figures on the subject decidedly mis- leading. But there is a rather general consensus of opinion that about 5 per cent of the total city area is a reasonable minimum allowance to be devoted to local parks, playgrounds, and squares, and that more than 10 per cent may be uneconomic. In Pittsburgh the questions of size and distribution of local parks must be considerably affected by the topographical condi- tions. The city and the contiguous boroughs are, to a certairf extent, subdivided into hilltop and valley communities, close together it may be, but nevertheless isolated one from the other by almost precipitous hillsides from one hundred to four or five hundred feet in height. These communities are sometimes very small and are frequently very irregular in shape, as, for instance, when confined to the bottom of a narrow valley only two or three hundred feet in width and a mile or two in length. And even on those hillsides where a less severe topography does not actually stop development, it may still make intercommunication so diff- cult and laborious that the upper portion is practically separated from the lower. Under such conditions it is certain that a comparatively small recreation center is the most suitable local park unit, especially in the rougher portions of the Pittsburgh District. In Chicago and other cities of normally flat topography, such advantages GENERAL DISCUSSION OF PARKS IIs have been found in grouping related activities—economy in main- tenance and operation, and increase of efficiency per thousand of population served—that, other things being equal, reasonably large park units, probably twenty acres or more in extent, are con- sidered more desirable than the same total area split into a larger number of small scattered squares. But the conditions in Pitts- burgh are peculiar. Here each isolated community, no matter how small, needs its local park; every portion of the long, narrow valley settlement should be near a park; and hillside settlements at distinct levels should have separate opportunities for recrea- tion. Considering the size and shape of the area to be served in many of these cases it is evident that the advantages of concen- tration must give way to the need for frequent centers, and that economy will here indicate the adoption of a normal size con- siderably less than that most desirable for cities of flatter topography. In selecting the land for local parks in Pittsburgh there are three chief points to consider: cheapness, suitability of the land for the purpose, and accessibility to the people who will use it. The best method of procedure is as follows: first, decide upon the general locality within which the park is needed and the func- tions which it is to serve; second, make a general examination of the values of property within the locality, consider roughly the cost of developing different kinds of land into the sort of park required, and select, tentatively, one or more sites which seem promising; third, obtain options on such of the land within the limits of the tentative site or sites as can be put under favorable option; then, fourth, ask publicly for the tender of any lands in the locality for parks, and hold public hearings thereon; finally, in the light of the information thus secured, select definitely the site and boundaries of the park and take the lands by condemna- tion proceedings. It is far better to proceed in this way than to begin by buying or accepting certain pieces of land, no matter how favorable the terms may be, and subsequently acquiring adjacent pieces to rectify the boundaries or complete the requisite area. The very establishment of a park renders the adjacent land more valuable at once, and therefore, if the City buys park land piecemeal it has to pay in the latter purchases an increased price due solely to its having previously started to establish a park in 116 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES the neighborhood. The condemnation process, preceded by obtaining options where possible, takes all the land at one and the same instant, and the cost is that of land in a parkless district. Delay is apt to add but little to the cost of acquiring parks in built-up regions where land and building values are reasonably stable, whereas it adds enormously to the cost in regions at the growing margin of the city. Here,-where the greater city of the future is being made, is surely the opportunity to save the large cost of supplying a built-up district with neighborhood parks. It should be the invariable rule, as it is in some of the states of Germany, that the amount of land which will be required to meet the public needs of the locality when fully developed should be set apart as a necessary incident to the subdivision of land. The method of setting apart such lands in a district which is sub- divided and put on the market by a single owner would normally be dedication, as in the case of streets; but where the area to be subdivided is controlled by a number of different owners, the City might have to purchase or condemn the necessary public spaces and assess the cost upon the whole district benefited, as it frequently has to do with streets that run through the lands of several owners. A rigid and universal city regulation as to the reservation of open spaces would remove the competitive pres- sure which now forces many real estate owners and promoters to adopt, as a pure matter of business, an illiberal and short-sighted policy in the layout of land. Some of the most successful suburban real estate operators in the northeastern states have satisfied themselves, and are now operating on the principle, that the dedication of land for local park purposes, up to a reasonable amount, if so arranged as not to interfere with the lotting system, actually increases the net returns from the operation. Ona plat which was drawn by Wood, Har- mon & Company to illustrate the application of this principle, about 30 per cent of the area was devoted to streets (about the normal figure for Pittsburgh) and about 734 per cent to the park. The large rural park ought to provide something quite different from the neighborhood park. Except for those who live near it and for whom it may serve incidentally as a local park also, it is remote from the people, can be visited only occasionally and with some effort, and it will Rural Parks SPECIAL PARK OPPORTUNITIES 11y be justified only if it affords something which the small local parks are totally unable to give. To afford the maximum of pleasant contrast with urban conditions is its fundamental pur- pose and, if it fail in this, there is reasonable doubt if its return in public usefulness is worth its cost to the community. A con- siderable degree of seclusion from adjacent land with its city developments is practically essential, and the more complete the barrier, both as to sight and sound, the more perfectly will the park fulfil its purpose. A sense of spaciousness is very import- ant,—the expansive opposite of cramping city streets and walls. For this is needed the concentration of a large area in a single park. But of greater importance than mere size, especially in Pittsburgh, is the topographical situation. Hilltop lands though not in the least secluded frequently offer vantage points from which to look upon vast stretches of landscape, thus giving the greatest possible sense of spaciousness and lack of confinement. On the other hand, the valleys, with their wooded banks, are unrivaled in the natural opportunities they afford for almost complete seclusion from urban surroundings. Fortunately the Pittsburgh District is well endowed with available sites of both kinds, a few of which are noted below under ‘Special Park Opportunities.” SPECIAL PARK OPPORTUNITIES The following are some notes, made in the course of the main thoroughfare investigations, regarding certain special oppor- tunities for parks and parkways in and about Pittsburgh. 1. Moultrie Street Playground.—The small playground at Moul- trie Street, in the Soho District, should be enlarged; for it is in the midst of a section where the need for public recreation facilities is very great. Moultrie Street, running north from Fifth Avenue, can be abandoned beyond the south side of the play- ground, because the proposed street on the hillside to the west* will furnish the needed connection between Fifth Avenue and Centre Avenue. The playground can then be extended from side to side of the valley bottom and north to the foot of the dump, thus getting an area of some 3% acres. This dump, by the way, should not be extended any further down the valley. *Part II, Section 12, page 62 118 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES 2. Millvale Playground.—At Millvale, Butler Street bends into the mouth of the valley leaving a fair space of vacant land (some 5 or 6 acres) between the street and the railroad. Although this would not be an ideal location for a large neighborhood park, because the district benefited is entirely on one side, and the maximum number of people that could be accommodated would not be found within easy walking distance, a small park such as this, adjacent to the dense population of Millvale, would proba- bly be within reach of all the people it could reasonably serve. Where flat vacant land is so scarce, this opportunity for a small park should not be neglected. 3. Eta Playground.—At Etna there is some vacant land in the hollow between Butler Street and Pine Creek in the vicinity of Isabella Street. Though the area is small, it should be reserved for public recreation, for it is in the midst of a dense population of working people, a place where playground Seer is most in demand. 4. Etna Park.—A short distance up the Pine Creek valley, just above the upper mills of the Spang-Chalfant Company, is a large meadow between the railroad and the main valley thorough- fare on the east, and the steep hillside on the west. Bearing in mind that this valley is the most important line of connection from Pittsburgh to the northern districts and is consequently sure to build up thickly, even as less important valleys have done, it* seems wise to secure this land for public use while it is still vacant. Some fifteen acres are now available, and a complete, useful, and beautiful recreation ground could easily be made therewith. The flatness of the ground would make the develop- ment of such a park easy and comparatively cheap. 5. Chartiers Valley—There is a good deal of vacant land along the Chartiers Valley, even in the vicinity of McKees Rocks. Considering the character and density of the population at McKees Rocks, and in the northern corner of Sheraden, it would seem eminently wise to secure a reasonable amount of this for local parks. 6. Rankin Playground.—In Rankin there is a hollow east of Kenmawr Avenue between the Pennsylvania Railroad and Brad- dock Avenue, which is available for a playground. Eight or ten acres could probably be obtained, and, by controlling the banks SPECIAL PARK OPPORTUNITIES 11g of the hollow, a beautiful and secluded little park could be made. It is in the center of thickly populated sections of Rankin and Braddock. 7. Sawmill Run Parkway.—The Sawmill Run valley, from the West End to Fairhaven and possibly beyond, offers a park and parkway opportunity which should not be neglected until com- mercial development becomes a serious stumbling block to its realization. It is an interesting valley of varying width and form, enclosed by high, steep banks, occasionally wooded; in some parts it is wide enough only for a drive, while in others large, flat meadows make ideal places for play. And Sawmill Run itself, when it is no longer used as an open sewer, will be an additional element of park value. Surrounded as it is by land accessible to the city and reasonably adapted to residential use, this valley seems an unusual opportunity for effective park service. In taking it for park use, Shalerville and the Bell Tavern settlement would, of course, be excepted; otherwise, the holdings should be con- tinuous from Temperanceville to Fairhaven; and such scattered buildings as would in any way impair the value of the park should eventually be removed. A boulevard thoroughfare should extend the length of the valley, serving not only as a cross-town connection between important radial thoroughfares, but as a link in a circumferential parkway system.* 8. Nine Mile Run Park.—Perhaps the most striking oppor- tunity noted for a large park is the valley of Nine Mile Run. Its long meadows of varying width would make ideal playfields; the stream, when it is freed from sewage, will be an attractive and interesting element in the landscape; the wooded slopes on either side give ample opportunity for enjoyment of the forest, for shaded walks and cool resting places; and above all it is not far from a large working population in Hazelwood, Homestead, Rankin, Swissvale, Edgewood, Wilkinsburg, Brushton and Home- wood; and yet it is so excluded by its high wooded banks that the close proximity of urban development can hardly be imagined. If taken for park purposes, the entire valley from the top of one bank to the top of the other should be included, for upon the preservation of these wooded banks depends much of the real value of the park. * Part II, Section 71, page 81. 120 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES A pleasure drive should extend from one end of this valley to the other. The route of this drive has not been studied. At the northern end, however, there is no apparent obstacle to reaching any of the important thoroughfares, such as Penn Avenue or Forbes Street. At the other end there is a good chance to extend a parkway down the river as a riverside drive,* connecting at the Glenwood bridge with a proposed boulevard thoroughfare to the ‘ down town district.t| This would furthermore be a desirable link in a circumferential parkway system which it is not unlikely will some day extend southward from the Glenwood bridge, and ulti- mately connect with the Sawmill Run parkway above proposed. (Section 7 above.) g. Squaw Run Park.—Northeast of Aspinwall the valley of Squaw Run with its tributary, Stonycamp Run, would be ideal for park use. It has great beauty and variety of landscape. It has fields for playing as well as woods and a brook. It is secluded and by its wooded banks can always be kept so, even when the higher land about it is commercially developed. It is none too accessible at present, but it is in a clean and beautiful region, well adapted, topographically, for residential use, and such development will inevitably follow the improvement of transpor- tation facilities to the business districts of Pittsburgh. The park will then supply the local needs of the surrounding communities, and, furthermore, it will be easily reached from many parts of the® city. A parkway thoroughfare should extend up the valley.t 10. Guyasuta Park.—Just west of Aspinwall is the valley of Guyasuta Run, a beautiful wooded ravine well suited to give holi- day enjoyment to the people. It is already used extensively for this purpose, and it should be saved for the people for all time. 11. Allegheny River Parkway.—A riverside thoroughfare is described on page 79 (Part II, Section 61), running from the Sharpsburg bridge up the Allegheny Riverto Hoboken or Mont- rose. This should certainly be treated as a parkway, for oppor- tunities to take advantage of the river in this way for public enjoyment are rare in Pittsburgh. Connections should be made into the Guyasuta Run and Squaw Run valleys. 12. Beechwood Boulevard.-From Highland Park to Franks- town Avenue, Beechwood Boulevard follows the bottom of a *Part II, Section 32, p. 70. {Part II, Section 14. p. 62. { Part II, Section 63, p. 79. SPECIAL PARK OPPORTUNITIES 121 valley. The plateau land above is thickly settled, and the valley banks are mere dumps of the most unsightly and objectionable character, which rob the Boulevard of much of its value as a pleasure drive. These banks are commercially of little use. In some portions of the valley there is sufficient depth of private property between the Boulevard and the foot of the bank to give usable frontage on the parkway, but the location, in the bottom of a valley, is so undesirable for house sites that a very cheap and unsightly development is apt to take place. This would be even more damaging to the pleasure drive than the present conditions. It is urged, therefore, that this whole valley from the top of one bank to the top of the other be taken as an essential part of the present parkway. 13. Negley Run Parkway.—It is further urged that the entire valley of Negley Run be added to the park system. This would be part of the plan for extending a thoroughfare parkway from Beechwood Boule- vard up this valley and along Prince- ton Place to the heart of East Liberty.* 14. Silver Lake Playground.—Partly as an improvement to Beechwood Bou- levard, but chiefly for its own sake, Lincoln Avenue bridge over Beechwood Boulevard, at Silver Lake, to- Silver Lake, Pittsburgh gether with the enclosing valley and its banks, should be taken for park purposes. It is an attractive spot in the midst of a closely built up section which has no local parks. Though small, it could well supply much of the need for recreation in the immediate - neighborhood. 15. Haights Run Valley.— Another valley which should be added to Highland Park is that of Haights Run. Topographi- cally it is so related to the park that any defacement of its present beauty by unsightly usage would greatly injure the value of the * Part II, Section 23, page 66. 122 PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES western portion of Highland Park. The whole valley, from its mouth to Wellesley Avenue and west to the top of the bank, should be controlled. A parkway thoroughfare from East Liberty down to the river should follow this valley.* 16. Bluff Street Hillside—The precipitous bank, between Bluff Street at the top and Second Avenue and the Baltimore & Ohio tracks at the bottom, is a topographical feature of much interest and beauty in itself and having, further, a peculiar value asa typi- cal and striking example of the natural physical characteristics of the Pittsburgh District. Commercially, it has little value, unless perhaps as a site for signs, and such use should above all others be guarded against. The whole bank should be owned or con- trolled by the City to prevent its defacement and to preserve a natural element of civic interest and beauty. 17. Mt. Washington Hillside.— Another feature of the same sort, only much larger, more conspicuous and therefore more important, is the precipitous hillside south of the Monongahela River from the West End to the Castle Shannon incline. Most of this slope is owned by the Railroad, and it may be that an agree- ment can be made with them whereby the City need not buy the land in order to stop effectually all defacement. But, whatever might be the best plan for control, there is no doubt that the area in question should be preserved intact for all time as a monumental example of the Pittsburgh landscape. *Part II, Section 25, page 67. PART V Special Reports THE MARKET WO conclusive reasons point to the removal of the Dia- mond Square Market from its present site. First, it is an obstruction at a vital point to the development of the thoroughfare system of the city; second, it is too small and con- gested for the proper performance of its functions. The ingenious proposition has been made, in order to secure more space for the business, that the whole of the square be excavated and a basement or underground market be built extending under the surrounding streets. This would permit the extension and widening of Diamond Street and Market Street through the square at the ground level, although these improve- ments were not contemplated by those who suggested the base- ment market. Such an arrangement, if not coupled with the erection of structures above ground in such a manner as to inter- fere with the free passage of the two streets through the space, would seem to meet the traffic problem; except that the massing of vehicles and people on the surface, in connection with the marketing, would be somewhat objectionable. But from the market point of view such a solution seems wholly unsatisfactory and inadequate. There is no question that the space is now too small for handling the business in a com- fortable, sanitary and decent manner, and the space now occupied is by no means confined to the two old buildings. The sidewalk stalls, so called, from which nearly half the rentals of the market. are derived, occupy a large part of the surrounding streets, and at the busy hour there is hardly a square foot of those streets that is not in use by the dealers or their customers. To build a basement market occupying the whole of the square, after deducting the considerable space required for entrances, stair- ways or inclines, elevators, piers, ventilating shafts, etc., would (123) 124 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS not materially enlarge upon the present facilities; and it would put the market in a position where automatic means of relief, by overflow into the streets and into adjacent private stores, would be practically impossible. Moreover, the opinions of market- men and of experts on the values of retail trade locations seem to be that the chances are desperately against the commercial success of any basement or underground market, no matter what skill may be exercised in meeting the problems of lighting, ven- tilation, and means of access. In judging other possible solutions of this very perplexing problem it is important to consider the experiences of other large cities of the northeast states with the market business. With only two exceptions all the markets of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington have become less and less profitable during recent years. In some cases the busi- ness has fallen off so much that half the stalls are vacant, and in others the markets have had to be abandoned. The reasons offered by market superintendents and others for this general decline, upon analysis, may be summarized as follows: (1) With the increase in size of cities and the general change in habits, retail purchasers find it increasingly troublesome to go to a cen- tral market, and attach an importance to the convenience of pur- chasing from neighboring local provision dealers, and of having the goods delivered. (2) Owing also to general changes in hab- its of life, especially to the increasing specialization of knowledge and skill of all kinds, the average retail purchaser is becoming constantly less competent to form an independent judgment of the quality of provisions offered for sale, is more conscious of this incompetency, and is more and more dependent upon the reliability of the dealer; he is therefore less able to get any advantage from purchasing in an open competitive market. This again obviously makes for the advantage of the local provision stores. An index of this tendency is the increasing amount of ordering by telephone and otherwise “sight unseen.” Both the above factors, but especially the latter, are reflected in the fact that such of the public markets as are falling off least in their business are taking on more of the character of wholesale markets where the purchasers are experts representing either local retail provision dealers, or hotels, clubs and restaurants. THE MARKET 125 The two markets which have proved exceptions to the gen- eral rule are the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia and the Center Market in Washington. The Reading Terminal Market is owned by the Reading Railroad and is managed by a superintendent who has absolute control. It has been built up from nothing, fifteen or twenty years ago, to a flourishing busi- ness at present, and this has all happened in the face of the gen- eral decline in the market business throughout this section of the country. Mr. McKay, the superintendent, attributes his success to three main causes. In the first place, every consideration pos- sible is given to the farmers; stalls are rented to them at about one-third the prices paid by city dealers and they are never ousted in favor of the latter. Furthermore, Mr. McKay spends considerable time canvassing the agricultural sections of the country within fifty miles of Philadelphia, hobnobbing with the farmers, getting them interested in selling their produce to the best advantage through facilities which he can offer them. In fact he does everything possible to encourage the farmers to make use of the market both for their own advantage and for his. In the second place, direct railroad connections furnish the best possible transportation facilities. Produce can be collected from the surrounding country at the least possible cost, and can be delivered to suburban residences much cheaper than by independent city stores. The third reason for success is able management. The market business, like any other, needs able management, and without that it is probable that any market undertaking, no matter how favored in other circumstances, will run a large risk of financial failure. The success of the Center Market in Washington is appar- ently due mainly to the close relation maintained with the farmers and to its efficient general management. Tt may be noted further that in Germany practically all the large public market houses have direct railroad connections. In Pittsburgh the market business is apparently flourishing; and this in spite of the facts that no special encouragement is given to the farmers, that there are no direct or convenient trans- portation facilities, and that the management is not especially able. Considering the experiences of other cities, it is hard to account for this condition, but it is only reasonable to take warn- 126 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS ing and to expect a decline in the business sooner or later unless radical improvements are made. It is to be considered furthermore that the city is not in the market business simply for the sake of getting a little revenue out of it. It is justified in conducting such an enterprise only on the ground that it provides a facility for the people which can not otherwise be well and economically provided. In the first instance public market places have always been established as a convenient means of purchasing provisions in an ‘‘ open market,” a place where prices are supposed to be determined by free com- petition among the producers with the minimum absorption of profit by the agencies roughly indicated by the term ‘ middle- men.” Under modern conditions, as the gap between the pro- ducer and the consumer has grown steadily bigger, the mere providing of a convenient vacant space in the city, where pro- ducer and consumer could meet and do their bargaining, has proved utterly insufficient. Apparently the recognition of the changing conditions has been so tardy on the part of those representing our cities in the administration of public markets, and their action so timid and temporizing, that they have left the bridging of the gap to commercial middlemen. In the course of the last two or three generations, therefore, the public provision markets have become largely places for a special group of mid- dlemen, or retailers, to display their wares; in essence not very different from the natural groupings of other classes of retailers’ stores in various quarters of the business district. It is, therefore, of peculiar interest to note that the only two public markets in the cities investigated which have not shown a decline of business are those in which special, constructive efforts have been made, by the market administration, to maintain a close relation with the producer and to minimize the growing obstacles that tend to impede and complicate and make costly the operation of transferring goods from him to the consumer. Not only do these two exceptional markets with increasing trade point this moral very clearly; but at Boston, where the market is still very successful, though in diminishing degree and with an increasing emphasis on the wholesale end of the business, the superintendent is very clear in his view that it is upon the facilities offered to the farmers for direct sale from THE MARKET 127 their wagons that the continued success of the market largely depends. It is one of the unfortunate features of the Diamond Square Market that it has been thought necessary to segregate the farmers’ wagons in another locality, and a serious objection to the Square as a permanent market site is the impossibility of providing for them in connection with it. But while the farmers’ wagons are important, even more important is the maintenance of facilities for the economical shipment, receipt, and sale of provi- sions from farmers who cannot bring their goods to market in their own wagons. Pittsburgh is not in the midst of an ideal farming country and an exceptionally large proportion of its food must come by rail. Even in Philadelphia, where the immediate surroundings of the city are much better adapted for the raising of provisions, the notable success of the Reading Market is largely due to the economical and convenient arrangements for getting produce to market by rail, and in Pittsburgh such facil- ities seem almost essential to any large and permanent success. It seems clear then, that, if such a permanent success is to be made of the Pittsburgh Market, it must be moved from Diamond Square to a larger site with rail connections and room for farmers’ wagons. Several localities have been studied with this idea in view and the best of them appears to be, as recommended earlier in this report, between Third and Fourth Streets and Penn and Liberty Avenues. The advantages of the site briefly are as fol- lows: First, it is not far from Diamond Square, and is even more accessible from the cars passing over the Point Bridge by which a large proportion of the present patrons of the Market appear to arrive; and furthermore, the improvement of street railway transportation will undoubtedly mean the through-routing of cars, a change which will make this site directly accessible also from other sections of the city. Under the circumstances, to move the market so short a distance should not involve any serious loss of trade. Second, the land and the buildings are reasonably cheap although the frontage is on Liberty Avenue, one of the main arteries of travel in the Point District. Third, the area is large enough to allow a reasonable provision of space where farmers can remain and sell produce directly from their wagons and not be forced, as at present, to do business at a dis- 128 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS tance, on the Monongahela wharf; and furthermore there is plenty of room for expansion either across Penn Avenue or Fourth Street. Lastly, in this location, a direct connection already exists, via the Duquesne Elevated, with the Pennsylvania Rail- road System, the most important freight carrier in the District; also the site is close to the Wabash Railroad, with which connec- tion could be secured if further developments of the road should justify it; and being close to the Allegheny River all possible advantage can be taken of river transportation, especially for the receipt of produce. It should be noted further that even with the best advantages of site and physical equipment a public market is by no means sure of success. More important probably than any other one element making for success is able and stable management. The market business is a large, intricate and many-sided business; and it is not reasonable to expect any. very brilliant results under the management of a succession of superintendents rotating in office with political changes in the City Government, and not selected because of any special qualifications of experience or great busi- ness ability. A highly competent superintendent holding his office during good behavior will be essential to the success of the new market in Pittsburgh. THE HUMP CUT : The purpose of this improvement, upon the successful attain- ment of which the plans must be judged, appears to be twofold: (1) To reduce the obstacle offered by the Hump to the general street traffic of the city, and (2) to reduce the obstacle which appears to be offered by the steep gradients to the expansion of the district available for high-class retail trade and offices. The former is the larger consideration as regards the whole city. The latter is the main consideration as regards the locality itself and the interests of the owners of land therein. The plan of the Bureau of Surveys, marked “Approved December 23, 1909,” shows proposed gradients on the ‘east and west streets ranging from 4.75 per cent on Sixth Avenue to 5.88 per cent on Diamond Street, Fifth Avenue being 5.52 per cent. On Grant Street the maximum gradient is proposed to be THE HUMP CUT 129 reduced from 4.8 per cent to 4.6 per cent. While these proposed gradients are undesirably heavy, it is believed that they would not in themselves offer a very serious obstacle to the advance of first- class business into the Hump District if for other reasons the growth should tend in that direction. Further, for automobiles, electric cars and light horse-drawn carriages the proposed gradi- ents, while objectionable, are not, in view of the topography of . Pittsburgh, very excessive. Such gradients, however, are prohibi- | tive to economical teaming. They will be avoided by teamsters at the expense of a long detour if they can find a route of low . gradient, and if there is no such route they mean the hauling of | smaller loads, the making of more trips to do the same work, and a very appreciable tax upon the public, paid in the cost of coal, building material, household supplies, etc. Almost at first sight there appear two important lines of © travel which might naturally be expected to pass through the Hump District, and which would be seriously affected by gradi- ents as heavy as those remaining under the Bureau of Surveys’ | plan. One is that leading from the Point District and from prac- tically all the freight yards into the valley occupied by Fifth Avenue and Forbes Street. A second line which may be ex- pected to have great importance is one connecting Second Avenue east of Try Street with Liberty and Penn Avenues in the vicinity of the Union Station—in other words, the most easterly line upon which a connection of easy gradient can be secured between the two valleys. The improvement of Forbes Street as the main artery of a large east-bound thoroughfare system, the location of the traffic artery to the South Hills region—the high-level bridge and tunnel—and the location of the proposed Municipal Building and Civic Center, which are all recommended in Parts I and II of this report, must inevitably add greatly to the importance of this region behind the Hump as a distributing point for traffic. Sixth Avenue, especially the diagonal portion, Fifth Avenue and Dia- mond Street are the thoroughfare lines to this point. Considered together with other improvements of the down town district, Diamond Street becomes perhaps the most important line over the Hump. From the point of view of the city as a whole, any plan for cutting the Hump which does not secure reasonable gradients on these thoroughfares must be regarded as ineffective. SEVENTH ie GRANT ST. a STRAW [BERR SIXTH) DIAMOND AVE. GRANT BVD. BEDFORD AVE. THIRD GRANT De 4 FIRST WATER TRY BRIDGE ela elt eee | | | Tol PITTSBURGH CIVIC COMMISSION PLAN FOR THE PROPOSED HUMP CUT’ SCALE too ° 90 700-300-400 ‘nat beh neni) FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED CONSULTANT ON'CITY PLANNING KEY= AMOUNT OF CUT AT STREET {NTERSECTIONS. SHOWN THYS (130) THE HUMP CUT 131 The accompanying plan and profiles indicate the area and amount of cut which appears to be the least that should be under- taken. The area is practically the same as that proposed on the iTmrige $Y opp eters Fees! Et DIAMOND 3} 200 ‘400 ‘600 00 1300 7200 1400 1600 0 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 GRANT STREET __ PITTSBURGH CIVIC COMMISSION PROFILES OF THE PROPOSED HUMP CUT FREDERICK LAW OLMSTEO CONSULTANT OM CITY PLANING DIMENSIONS WERE SCALED FROM PRINTS FUANISHED BY BURCAU OF SURVEYS PRESCHT SUAFACE SHOWN THUS -—-— CUT SPECIFIED IN. WAIVERS SO FAR AS OBTAINED opt amrtnriciy $7. Bureau of Surveys’ plan of December, 1909; the cut at certain places, however, is considerably deeper. A cut of 11.3 feet at Grant and Diamond Streets gives a maximum gradient of 4.75 132 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS per cent on the latter; a cut of 14.3 feet at Grant Street and Fifth Avenue gives a maximum gradient of 4.74 per cent on Fifth Avenue; and a cut of 8.9 feet at Webster and Sixth Avenues gives a maximum gradient of 4.34 per cent on the latter and 3.4 per cent on the Grant Street-Sixth Avenue cross-town route. These gradients are certainly not ideal, but it is believed that they are good enough to justify the undertaking, and deeper cuts are not urged chiefly because the area of cut would thereby be extended further into abutting regions where little or no benefit could be assessed and practically no damage - waivers could be obtained; the cost of the undertaking being thereby inordinately increased. | On Grant and Ross Streets the maximum gradients proposed are about 4.5 per cent, not excessive for lines which are not of the first importance. There is little advantage in extending the > cutting any further on Wylie Avenue than is forced by the cut on Sixth Avenue, for there is no object in securing an easy gradient at one point when the gradient just beyond is over 7 per cent and cannot well be improved. The same applies to Webster Avenue | east of Tunnel Street, but it must be cut heavily at this point partly on account of the cut at Sixth Avenue and partly to pro- vide a good gradient on the extension of Grant Boulevard. The extension of Grant Boulevard and the widening of Web- ster Avenue from Tunnel Street to Grant Street, the widening of * Strawberry Way and Oliver Avenue and the widening of Sixth Avenue and Diamond Street have been recommended in the first part of this report. It is further recommended: (1) that Fifth Avenue between Ross and Grant Streets be widened to 60 feet ; (2) that Cherry Alley be widened to 50 feet between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, and (3) that the westerly corner of Sixth Avenue and Grant Street be cut off enough to allow the passage of one line of vehicles between the curb and a car round- ing the corner. These changes should all be incorporated in any general plan for cutting and improving the Hump District. THE CITY AND THE ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES Recommendations for Bridge Heights and Pier Location. to Meet the Various Transportation Needs of Pittsburgh By CoLONEL THOMAS W. SYMONS AND FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED INTRODUCTION March 15th, 1910, upon recommendation of the Committee on City Planning, the Pittsburgh Civic Commission authorized Colonel Thomas W. Symons, Corps Engineers, U. S. A. retired, and Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted to make a report upon desirable heights and pier locations for bridges over the Allegheny River. The purpose of the Commission was to secure a report which weighed the interests of all parties to the bridge question, and which would strike a balance to meet the various transportation needs of Pittsburgh. The Commission asked the Committee on City Planning to direct the preparation of the report. The Committee consists of T. E. Billquist, chairman; Charles F. Chubb, H. J. Heinz, Benno Janssen, Richard Kiehnel, E. K. Morse. This committee passed upon the report April 18th and recommended it to the Commission for adoption. On April 25th the Commission received and adopted the report and voted their hearty apprecia- tion of the work of Colonel Symons, Mr. Olmsted and the Com- mittee on City Planning. This report was published separately in May 1910. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. That the Sixteenth Street and Forty-third Street bridges, which are obstructions to navigation on account of their pier locations, narrow channels, and exceptionally low clearance height, be required to be rebuilt with their piers so located as to give channels conforming to the neighboring bridges, and that their elevation be fixed with regard to eliminating the railroad grade crossings on their approaches, but the minimum clearance shall be fixed in accordance with the closing paragraph below. (133) 134 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS 2. That the Ninth Street bridge should be rebuilt as soon as practicable with a central pier and two wide spans conforming to those of the Sixth Street and Seventh Street bridges. The design of the new Ninth Street bridge, however, should not be finally determined and erection begun until a definite plan for comprehensive improvements in the traction system between the two sides of the river has been decided upon. Unless new circum- stances develop before the construction of this bridge is begun that materially affect the problem of clearance height, the eleva- tion should be fixed in accordance with the closing paragraph below. 3. That all questions pertaining to changing the elevation of the Sixth Street, Seventh Street, Fort Wayne, Thirtieth Street and Junction Railroad bridges be deferred to await the report of the Pittsburgh Flood Commission and the resultant action; to await the report on a comprehensive plan for traction improve- ments; to await the completion of the work projected by the City in cutting down some streets and filling others; and to await the results of the investigation of river boat design and construc- tion provided for in the River and Harbor bill just passed by Congress. 4. That if it is deemed essential and necessary at present to decide upon the elevation to which all Allegheny River bridges must be made to conform, this elevation be fixed so that there” shall be a clear head room of substantially 37 feet above pool level, varied so as to give at each bridge a clear head room of 28 feet when the river is at a 15 foot flood stage. This height to be maintained over the entire main span where there is a central span and for 180 feet on each side of the central pier where there is a central pier. FULL REPORT April 19th, 1910 THE PITTSBURGH CIVIC COMMISSION : Gentlemen: In accordance with your expressed desire we have examined into the bridge problem on the Allegheny River now before the City, particularly in regard to the use of the bridges and their connections with the streets of the city and the use of the river for harbor and navigation purposes, and beg to submit the following report thereon: ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 135 There are three great interests concerned in the problem of the bridges over the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh: (1) those who frequently cross the river or whose business requires the transportation of workmen, raw and manufactured ma- terial, and supplies from one side of the river to the other; (2) those concerned in the navigation of the river and harbor, and (3) those who own and operate the bridges. In the hearings recently held on the subject much consideration has been given to the bridge owners and the navigation interests but comparatively little atten- tion has been given, at first hand, to the interests of the general public, who in great numbers are interested in transportation across the river and for whose service both the bridges and river transportation exist. It is quite apparent, from a study of the situation and the interests involved, that changes might be demanded in the bridges which would give some added advantage to river navigation, but yet would place so great a burden upon the interests concerned in cross- ing the river that the result would be a net loss to the general public. The following are the European models German side-wheel boat, common on European rivers 136 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS two extreme positions somewhere between which all concerned would agree that a balance of interests most beneficial to the general public must be determined: From the viewpoint of traffic across the river the best arrangement would be level bridges at the grade of the connect- ing streets, regardless of river trafic. The more bridges are raised above that standard, apart from any question of first cost, the greater will be the interference with travel across the river, up to the point of prohibi- tive grades on the bridges and their approaches. Be- mm 2 | fore this point is ghts of boats reached draw- bridges must be considered which, while often required and adopted, are objectionable to the interests using the bridges and those passing under or through the bridges. From the viewpoint of the river interests the most complete improvement would be to do away with the bridges entirely, thus giving absolute freedom of navigation. This is out of the ques- tion. The next best thing from that point of view would be to change the bridges to one span each across the river from bank to bank with height enough for passage beneath of the highest floating structures at all stages of the river. This would be im- practicable without remodeling the city along both sides of the river for long distances from the banks at an expense so great as to be almost beyond computation. Anything less than this will impose, at least in theory, some hindrance upon river navigation, and this hindrance will be greater in amount as the head room is decreased and as piers are introduced into the river. The aim in arriving at a solution of the bridge problem must be to adjust these conflicting interests impartially ; and the factors to be considered in arriving at such an adjustment are these: Wharf at Cologne, showing hei ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES, 137 First, the amount and importance of the traffic likely to be affected in each case. Second, the extent to which any given solu- tion would benefit or injure the bridge traffic and the river traffic, respectively. 1. Amount and Importance of Traffic Affected.—(a) Bridge Traffic. —There are in question six highway bridges and two railroad bridges. Before referring to the statistics in regard to traffic over these bridges we wish to point out that much the greater part of it is of a kind daily and intimately affecting the business and the convenience of a large population. Any delay affecting the trans- portation of passengers over any of these bridges, and any delay or any increase of cost in teaming package freight and supplies from freight stations and warehouses and stores on one side of the river to their destination on the other side, would be felt very sharply by a considerable fraction of the manufacturers, merchants and other citizens of Pittsburgh. The inconvenience arising from any interference with traffic of this class would clearly be greater in proportion to the volume and value of the traffic than in the case of the slower moving river traffic. Ten minutes’ delay to UNDER BRIDGES OVER BRIDGES TONNAGE IN MILLIONS ‘SIXTH ST. NINTHST. FT.WAYNE. 1.045570) THIRTIETH ST. 4] JUNCTION RR |2assaoez 714.856|FODTY-THIRD STI st.090 * 2344598 13,240,010 2796224 1473250 2228270 sa12z2t0 398450 8650: PASSENGERS IN MILLIONS SIXTHST. NINTHST. FT. WAYNE, THIRTIETH ST. JUNCTIONRR FORTY-THIRD ST! 2709821 24325900 4BTTADS T5985 UNDER BRIDGES OVER BRIDGES. Diagram No. 1, showing comparative importance of traffic over and under Allegheny river bridges 138 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS people in reaching their offices or an hour’s delay beyond the expected time in the delivering of household food supplies or express packages, etc., for a number of families, is a much more serious matter than a corresponding or even a greater delay in the delivery of a barge-load of gravel or coal, even though the barge-load were of equal value with the delayed lot of supplies. Details in re- gard to the volume of traffic over the 108,000,000 bridges and _ esti- TONS mates of the value of the goods trans- ported and the equipment en- gaged in the traffic are given in Ap- pendix I and are summarized in graphical form in OVER BRIDGES Diagrams 1, 2 and 3. The amount COMPARATIVE DIAGRAM SHOWING and importance of TOTAL TONNAGE OVER AND UNDER hoa a GE THE ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES. ridge tramic may | "ee eae be summarized by No.2] stating that there passes over the existing Allegheny River bridges each year about 108,000,000 tons of trafic roughly valued at $9,350,000,000; and about 62,700,- ooo human beings, passengers and pedestrians. (b) River Traffic.—The data in regard to existing navigation under the Allegheny bridges consist of detailed reports of vessels and cargoes passing Dam No. 1 and counts of the number of vessels passing under the several bridges during representative ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 139 periods of from one to two months in 1909. From these data we have estimated the annual river traffic under each of the bridges, and very roughly, its value.* These amounts are shown graphi- cally in comparison with the corresponding figures for traffic over the bridges in Dia- grams I, 2 and 3. To briefly sum- marize, it may be stated that the river trafic of the Alle- gheny River in one year amounts in the aggregate to about 3,500,000 tons, in- cluding all freight carriers and power $9,366,973,935 boats, roughly valued at about $105,000,000; and about 35,000 human beings, passengers by boat. It seems well here to note that the water-borne trafic of the Alle- OVER BRIDGES yis000000 = COMPARATIVE DIAGRAM SHOWING gheny River has TOTAL VALUE OF TRAFFIC OVER . : AND UNDER THE ALLEGHENY RIVER been steadily de BRIDGES. creasing for many Taek Grout ee Sem FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED. years and is now but a small portion NO.3 of that which once existed. That this decline in river traffic is not due to the interfer- ence of the bridges is shown by the statement that the navigation facilities are better than ever before. It is due to the lack of mod- ern terminal facilities, boats and methods of carrying on business. There is a possibility that, in case improved conditions are provided for Allegheny River navigation, the amount thereof may * Appendix IT. 140 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS increase with the lapse of years, but for the reasons set forth in Appendix II, this increase is not likely to be so great in relation to the natural increase of the bridge traffic as to render the com- parison of the existing facts in Diagrams 1, 2 and 3 inapplicable to the future. (c) Comparison of Bridge and River Traffic.—To sum up, it may be said that each year the amount of traffic passing over the bridges is at least 30 times that floating on the water of the river, and about go times its value. The passenger traffic over the Paris passenger and freight boats bridges is about 1800 times that on the water. The character of the traffic over the bridges is such that a given degree of interfer- ence with it is a far more serious annoyance to the public than the same degree of interference with river traffic. 2. Effect of Various Solutions.—It remains to be considered to what degree the bridge trafic and the river traffic would be hampered or facilitated by various permanent solutions of the bridge problem. With a view to arriving at a plan as nearly ideal as the circumstances permit for a permanent arrangement of bridges over the Allegheny River, various projects have been put forward and considered. These concern two nearly indepen- dent matters, the elevation of the bridges above pool level and the location and design of the bridge piers. The former must be decided with regard to the effect upon both bridge and river ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 141 trafic; the latter may be determined with regard solely to the navigation interests, giving due consideration to the cost and the appearance of the resulting bridges, as discussed below. The plan upon which interest is now most centered is that officially recommended by the local office of the United States Engineer Corps. We shall consider the effect of the bridge heights proposed in this plan as com- pared with certain modifications there- of; first, upon the bridge traffic, and second, upon the river traffic. (a) Effect of Va- rious Possible Bridge Heights upon the Trafic over the Bridges.— Highway Bridges.—T he high- way bridges carry two principal classes of travel. The first consists of vehicles moved by power, electric cars and automo-_ Barge and towboat designed for shallow rivers and low bridges in the United States biles, and of pedes- trians. With this class an increase of gradient on the bridges or their approaches, within reasonable limits, simply means the expenditure of a moderate amount of additional energy without material loss of time, or other difficulties. The second class consists of horse-drawn vehicles a large portion of which do not enter the hill districts but are limited in their movements to the large district lying on the lowlands of the three river valleys or accessible therefrom on moderate gradients. A great deal of this teaming consists of freight of all kinds received or shipped at the numerous freight stations on both sides of the river. The area accessible on roads of easy gradient from each end of these 142 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS bridges is very great and includes nearly all the important indus- trial plants in Pittsburgh as well as all the freight stations and the principal warehouses, retail stores and other commercial estab- lishments of Pittsburgh and Allegheny. Any considerable increase of gradient on these bridges means a reduction in average size of load hauled by vehicles of this important class, and a corre- sponding increase in the number of trips and in the number of teams required to do the work, making for increased cost and greater congestion of traffic. For all horse-drawn vehicles an increase of gradient on the bridges, beyond a certain limit, means, especially in wet or snowy or frosty weather, more slipping and falling, more stalling of all bridge traffic by such accidents, more wear and tear on horse flesh, and a resultant increased burden on the people. To raise the gradient of the bridges from those now existing to those indicated in the plans of the local United States Engineers’ office would more than double the traction effort required in hauling over these bridges. It must be borne in mind that, as the gradients increase, the cost of teaming and the wear and tear on teams increases much more rapidly than the theoretical effective horse power, because of the increased difficulty of foothold. It is impossible to measure the effect of any given increase of grade with precision, but a comparison of the existing conditions with those resulting from various possible bridge heights will give a good general idea of * the effect as shown by the following tables: TABLE SHOWING BRIDGE GRADES INVOLVED BY THE ADOPTION OF Various CLEARANCE HEIGHTS Elevation in feet above pool level oe side of bridge over 360’ |Present| 37’ 42! 47’ |lPresent| 37’ 42! 47’ channel. Amount of rise in feet above Maximum gradients Duquesne Way Sixth Street bridge. . . ... 2.3% | 3.2% | 4.5% |5.8%*] 7.5 | 10.4 | 15.4 | 20.4 Seventh Street bridge... .. 3:0% 13.7% | 5% |6.3%*| 10.0 | 14.2 | 19.2 | 24.2 Ninth Street bridge ..... 2.8% 135%] 5% (6.5%%] 10.1 | 13.3 | 18.3 | 23.3 * Gradients for this clearance height are greater than those shown on United States Engineers’ plans because of greater width of channel. If United States Engineers’ plans were adopted the maximum gradients would be as follows: Sixth Street, 4.35%; Seventh Street, 4.93%, and Ninth Street, 4.98%. +The maximum gradients here given assume the improvement of the short pitches now existing on some of the bridge approaches. ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 143 TaBLe SHowiING EFFECTIVE ENERGY REQUIRED TO OVERCOME RISE OVER Bripces aT Various HEIGHTS picraiicn Fi ee Sudee ade of brides Present 37’ 42! a7’ over 360’ channel. 'Tons per annum Foot tons of effective energy Sixth Street bridge .| 13,240,010 | 99,300,075 | 137,696,104 | 203,896,154 | 270,096,204 Ninth Street bridge | 14,732,130 | 151,740,939 | 195,937,329 | 269,597,979 | 343,258,629 : Per cent of increase of effective energy required Sixth Street bridge . 38.6% 105.3% 172.0% Ninth Street bridge 29.1% 77.7% 126.2% At the Sixth Street bridge there is at present an undesirably steep gradient* on the Allegheny, or North Side, approach, but it is only 230 feet long and being paved with stone gives a good foothold for horses. This is to be greatly benefited by filling up the street with material taken from the ‘‘Hump” grading, the plans on file in the City Bureau of Construction providing for an improved gradient of only 2.22 per cent. Many of the abutters have already waived their damages and there is no ques- tion that the improvement will be made. The present bridge gradients and those of the Pittsburgh approach are less than 3 per cent. At the Seventh Street bridge the gradients do not exceed 3 per cent, except on the Allegheny approach where it is now being reduced to 2 per cent. At Ninth Street, while the present bridge gradients do not exceed 2.8 per cent, there is a short pitch about 100 feet long in the approach on the Allegheny side with a grade of 5.24 per cent. A small amount of regrad- ing, involving no heavy property damages, will suffice to reduce these gradients to 1.3 per cent, and appropriations for this improvement have already been made by the City. The existing grades at the Sixteenth Street, Thirtieth Street and Forty-third Street bridges are light, but it is not important to consider these bridges in detail in this connection as it is probable that the necessity for eliminating railroad grade cross- % 3.64 per cent (United States Engineers’ Office) or 4.0 per cent. (City Bureau of Construction.) + Given as 6.35 per cent on United States Engineers’ Sections. 144 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS ings will sooner or later alter the existing approaches in such a manner that the resulting gradients would not be further increased by raising the bridges. It is to be noted, however, that the precise elevations recommended by the local office of the United States Engineers for these bridges would involve serious complications with the railroad tracks. In many cities having similarly situated level business and manufacturing districts along rivers, very large sums of money have been spent to reduce the gradients on the connecting bridges to less than 3 per cent, and that figure is rather generally regarded by engineers as a maximum upon important traffic bridges. People in Pittsburgh are so accustomed to steep gradients in the adjacent hill districts that they are apt to ignore the fact that there is a city within their city, and that this inner manufac- turing and business city is closely confined to the long drawn-out, irregular, level river-bottoms and is much freer from hills than New York, almost as much so as Chicago. The city has expressed its willingness to spend a large sum of money and undergo great inconvenience for the sake of a moderate reduction in the street gradients of the ‘‘ Hump” at one of the gateways of the hill districts. Important as this work is, it cannot be compared for a moment as a matter of traffic improvement with the importance attaching to easy gradients on the bridges, for the streets of the ‘‘Hump” district lead in the main from the flat part of the city to the hilly part where average loads are limited by the prevailing steep gradients, whereas the bridges lie between two parts of the level industrial and com- mercial city. If at low gradients they serve to unite them; if at high gradients they divide them. Railroad Bridges—In so far as any changes in the railroad bridges produce conditions less convenient and expeditious for handling the business which the people have to do with the rail- road, the public has a direct concern in the matter. With regard to the Junction Railroad bridge of the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad System, the raising proposed by the local office of the United States Engineers, appears to involve no serious difficulties in operation which would affect the general public or the shippers. ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 145 With regard to the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago bridge of the Pennsylvania System, it is to be noted that this is a double-deck bridge, the upper tracks being used principally by passenger trains and the lower tracks by freight trains almost exclusively devoted to local freight business. The most serious consideration affecting this bridge is that any very considerable raising of the level of the lower tracks would throw them out of connection with the important local freight station to which those tracks run. Even if expense of reconstruction be wholly disre- garded we believe no way can be devised by which the freight tracks of the Fort Wayne bridge, if raised as proposed by the local office of the United States Engineers can be connected with the freight station and industrial plants without involving greatly increased difficulty and delay in the handling of freight either on the tracks or in the station itself or inthe teaming approaches to the station. When the large volume of local traffic handled at this station is considered, it is apparent that sucha radical change is a serious matter for shippers and the great manufacturing and commercial industries of the city. Other than the expense of making changes in the bridge and its approaches no serious difficulty stands in the way of raising the clearance of the main span of the Fort Wayne bridge 2 or 3 feet to about 37 feet above pool level. To go above that figure involves the serious objec- tions discussed above. (b) Effect of Different Bridge Heights Upon River Traffic.—The effect upon river navigation of any standard that may be adopted for the heights of bridges depends upon the heights of the ves- sels using the river and the fluctuations of the river level itself. (See Diagrams 4 and 5.) By means of Davis Island Dam in the Ohio River the water of Pittsburgh harbor is now kept practically at a minimum stage of six feet above the datum of zero at natural low water. This is the prevailing water level for the greater portion of the year. Floods come occasionally, produced by rains and melting snows, and, of course, with the floods come increased current velocities. These current velocities of each river depend upon the source of the flood. When the flood comes down the Allegheny River high velocities result. When the flood comes down the Monongahela the high water in the Allegheny is back-water without excessive 146 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS currents. Under this condition the Allegheny becomes a harbor of refuge for Monongahela commerce; and the reverse is true that in an Allegheny River flood the Monongahela becomes a harbor of refuge for Allegheny commerce. The floods in the two rivers seldom come at the same time on account of the differ- ences in the topography and climatic conditions along the two PITTSBVRGH CIVIC COMMISSION PitTsBURGH-Pa. DIAGRAM. SHOWING WATER LEVEL IN ALLEGHENY RIVER-AVERAGE LAST 53 YEARS TO ACCOMPANY REPORT OF COL. THOMAS W. SYMONS. FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED. HEIGHT OF WATER -iN FEET No. 4 NUMBER OF DAYS. water-sheds. The most serious floods in the Allegheny generally come in the spring, when they are frequently accompanied with drift and ice to such an extent as to render navigation dangerous. At a stage of 15 feet in an Allegheny River flood the river current runs at rates of from 4 to 7 miles per hour. The record of fifty- five years shows that there is an average of 9 days each year when the river is above a 15-foot stage, and this is mostly in the winter and spring when navigation in the harbor is at its lowest ebb. There is presented herewith Diagram 4, showing graphically the average number of days each year during which the river has reached the various heights indicated. There is also presented a hydrograph record of the river for four years past which indicates the conditions ordinarily met with as regards river stages at various times of year. ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 147 In the balancing of interests between the traffic on the river and that across the bridges, it is believed to be fair and just that for boats of excessive size and height the navigation of the river above a 15-foot stage be elimi- nated from the problem; (1) be- cause of the com- paratively small number of these boats; (2) because of the questionable necessity of having such high boats at all; (3) because of the period of the year when these extreme stages are reached; (4) because these periods of time are so limited in length; (5) because of the gen- erally accompanying swift currents, and (6) because of the oft- times accompanying dangerous floating drift and floating ice. As to the height of vessels, it is to be noted that the great bulk of navigation under the bridges is not through traffic, but is simply movements about in the lower stretch of the river which forms part of the harbor of Pitts- burgh. The com- modities moved are nearly all sand, gravel and coal in barges, which loads are almost invariably taken up stream while the downward movement is mostly of empty barges. These barges are mostly moved by harbor tugs. The harbor tugs actually in use are from 22 to 27 feet high, averaging about 24 feet. The heights of the Monongahela standard towboats vary Towboat and barge passing under low bridge Closer view of such boats Fitsburg Gage DECEMBER 5 10 15 0 96 MARCH APRIL May JUNE sULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER ocToBeR NOVEMBER 5 10 15 20 25 6 10 15 2 26 510 16 2 2% 5 10 15 20 2% FEBRUARY JANUARY 5 10 16 20 2% 5 10 16 20 25 18 20 2% 2 2% $ 5 6 10 15 20 95 ak = hat Ht ° > “ a 8 8 S 2 : os 7 oo Tae _ i. oa a ee an i ae LL a: eee | ae EAs eat ae ni a a a Se oe a it oe - a er te ate dine Eee a oF Ea Ee 5 10 15 20 25 Allegheny River heights for each day, 1906-1907.—U. S. Engineers’ Report (Diagram 5) ($ weiderq) woday ,sssaursuq *g *q—*6o61—gobr ‘dep yora 0} syysray Jeary Auaysalpy & 9b 9 % 0 G 4. g 9 $8 ot OL S $0 02 SL OL 9% 0% G1 Ol S go 08 Si OS SZ 0% St Ol 9 GZ 0% Gt OL S Tats 3 0 606/ 806/ a G2 02 SI Ol S G2 Of St OS 9% 08 1 OL F sb 1 438W3930 B3BW3AON 9380190 y38W31d3S asnony Auvngs 33 PSCOEING ES 150 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS from 24 to 32 feet, averaging abut 28 feet. Out of a list of 28 such boats but 5 exceed 28 feet in height. The few packet boats running on the river are of moderate height and can be accommodated in the harbor under the bridges at ordinary river stages. The amount of business that could be done by a few packet boats of extreme and unnecessary height is so small that to raise the bridges to a sufficient height to accom- modate it would place an entirely unjustifiable tax and incon- venience upon the far greater business interest of the city con- cerned in crossing the river. The following tables show the average number of days per annum during which various types of existing vessels would be prevented from navigation by bridges of various assumed heights above the Davis Island Pool: TasLe SHowinGc ErFFecT oF Various CLEARANCE HEIGHTS UNDER BRIDGES Assumed bridge height ab iat dae ssumed bridge height above th St. th St. ‘ pool level in feet bridge 37 42 47 bridge 37 42 47 ¥ 33 33 Total number of days per an- num when clearance would be insufficient excluding days when river is above 15-foot stage. Total number of days per an- Types of Vessels num when‘ clearance would be insufficient, Harbor tugs, average height BAS ie tensa nas Boke wl eA || EB 3 I 1 3 o ° ° Harbor tugs, maximum height i Be se. lariat dena ch ae ok Obs dawn Tat 36 9 I I 28 ° ° ° Monongahela boats, eeineey maximum height 28’ . . . 57 12 2 I 48 3 ° ° Monongahela boats, extreme maximum height 32’ . . . .| 198 57 9 I 189 48 ° o In drawing conclusions from the above table, as a basis for plans governing the expenditure of millions of dollars in con- struction and the permanent establishment of conditions of navi- gation and of traffic over the bridges and the enormous business interests concerned, it is important to bear in mind that the types of vessels here considered are antiquated, and can undoubt- edly be materially changed in many particulars to the benefit of all interests. As bearing directly on this question of boats and bridges, attention is invited to the following extract from the report of ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 151 Hon. D. S. Alexander, chairman of the River and Harbor Com- mittee of the United States House of Representatives, in submit- ting for action of the House the last River and Harbor bill on February 11th, 1910: Modern Type of Boats for Non-tidal Rivers.— The British Gov- ernment has been designing shallow-draft boats for use on the Nile, and the German and Austrian governments have been working along similar lines with reference to methods of trans- portation on the Rhine, the Danube, the Elbe and other water- ways. The boats designed have been very successful, having been used in connection with modern loading and unloading appliances. On our western rivers little change has been made in the design of towboats, barges, etc., since 1860, and it is believed that a design embodying the best points of modern vessels, with modern machinery and cargo handling devices, might lead to a marked increase in the traffic on the non-tidal rivers of the United States, especially after permanently improved channels are available. “Tt is believed that the appropriation of $500,000 to be expended in the purchase of plant for use in connection with the work of improvement of the river will also provide for experi- ments to be carried on by the Government which will result in improving the present type of river freight carriers; and also that these tests can -be made in no other way, since the expendi- tures and uncertainties involved preclude the use of private capi- tal for the purpose. As a result of the tests or experiments it is hoped that a large saving to the country at large may accrue from decreased costs of transportation, and that a type of carrier may be developed which will also reduce the cost of all bridges across navigable streams due to lessened requirements in the matter of head room.” This report of Colonel Alexander, the very able Chairman of the River and Harbor Committee of the House of Representa- tives, is worthy of serious consideration. Such an investigation and experiments to determine the best type of carriers to use on the river seems certain to be provided for and may result in clearly demonstrating that no necessity exists for raising the Allegheny bridges at all, in accordance with the possibility out- lined by the closing paragraph of Colonel Alexander’s report 12 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS above. The appropriation of $500,000 as recommended by Col- onel Alexander is included in the River and Harbor bill which has passed the House of Representatives and Senate. There is every probability that it will become a law. A vast amount of water traffic is carried on inland waterways all over the world under fixed bridges with far less head room than is provided for under the Allegheny River bridges. It is customary in other parts of the country and the world to estab- lish for rivers a minimum head room for bridges at a high navi- gable stage, which stage is considerably lower than the maximum or even the ordinary high flood stage. For instance, in the new barge canal being built by the State of New York at a cost of $108,000,000 the minimum head room under all stationary bridges is fixed at 15% feet at the high navigable stage of the water. The high navigable stage is based chiefly upon what is a safe navigable stage, taking everything into consideration. It is by no means a very high stage. As this canal runs through the canalized Mohawk, Oneida, Oswego, Seneca and Clyde rivers, the situation is comparable with that on the Allegheny. The depth of the canal at low water is to be 12 feet, so it is seen that the clear head room is but about 25 per cent greater than the mini- mum depth of the water. The boats must be made to fit the bridges, and not the bridges to fit the boats. It is estimated that the amount of traffic which will pass through these canals about 450 miles long and under these 15%-foot bridges will be about 20,000,000 tons annually, many times the amount making use of the Alle- gheny River. The present Erie, Champlain and Oswego canals in the State of New York, which have been in operation for about 80 years, are crossed by several hundred bridges giving a clear head room of 13 feet. No complaint about this head room is known to exist, notwithstanding that steam vessels are largely used for navigation purposes on the canals. The boats have to be made to fit the bridges and not the bridges to fit the boats. At Paris, the river Seine running through the city carries a very large amount of business. Annually about 20,000,000 pas- sengers, and about 11,000,000 tons of freight are carried on boats of various kinds. There are 36 bridges which span the river and must be passed by the water-borne traffic. The clear head room under these bridges at the highest navigable water ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 153 varies from 11.25 feet to 21.88 feet. By highest navigable water is meant the stage of water when by reason of floods or currents, navigation ceases. This Paris water-borne freight traffic on the Seine amounts to fully 7 times that of the Allegheny River and passes under § times as many bridges, with minimum available head room at high navigable stages just about one half that under the present bridges over the Allegheny at a 15-foot stage. The conditions of navigation on the Seine at Paris are practically the same as those on the Allegheny at Pittsburgh. In Paris the boats are made to fit the bridges and not the bridges to fit the boats. From these and many other illustrations that could be given it is evident that it is not universally or even commonly consid- ered necessary or advisable to sacrifice business interests crossing the bridges to navigation interests using the waterways, to any such extent as that demanded by the navigation interests of the Allegheny River. Conclusions as to Clearance Heights.—Disregarding for the moment the question of the time when changes in the present bridges should be required, it is believed, after very careful con- sideration, that the conditions brought out by our study of the problem would best be met by fixing the elevation for a substan- tial portion of each bridge in the center at a clear height above the pool level of substantially 37 feet, or 28 feet above the river at a 15-foot stage at each bridge. It is believed that this elevation will give fair, justifiable and all really needed accommodations to the navigation interests. This height can be attained without extravagant and unjustifiable expense and inconvenience to the business interests involved in crossing the river, and while it can- not be hoped that it would be satisfactory to the extreme advo- cates of river and harbor interests, it ought to satisfy those who are able and willing to give proper and fair consideration to other interests than their own. There are no reasonable navigation demands, with bridges at this elevation, that cannot be met if the water-borne commerce be conducted with vessels of the best modern accepted type and not of extreme or unnecessary height. Piers and Channels.—For the benefit of the navigation interests there are certain changes in some of the bridges over the Alle- gheny that should be made without question. These relate to the location of piers and location and width of the navigable channels. JayeM Moj[eYys pue parinbar syyS1ay asoueseaya Moy, Zurmoys ‘sueg ‘aurag ay} 19A0 saspug ADMBCE ap yuo ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 155 At the extreme mouth of the Allegheny River a new bridge, the North Side Point bridge, has been approved by the War Department and is to be built. This is to have one central pier dividing the river into two channels. A short distance above this North Side Point bridge is situ- ated the Sixth Street bridge, in some respects the most important highway structure crossing the river. This bridge now corre- sponds to the North Side Point bridge in having a central pier ‘and dividing the river into two main channels of ample width of over 400 feet. The next bridge, the Seventh Street bridge, also has now a central pier with channels about 320 feet width on each side of it. The next bridge up the river, that at Ninth Street, has shorter spans, with the piers so unfortunately located as to be decidedly obstructive. As this bridge is of relatively light construction it is possible that the heavy and constantly increasing traffic which it is called upon to bear will before long necessitate its reconstruc- tion anyway, and it will not be unreasonable to require it to be rebuilt with fewer piers properly located to conform to the plan adopted for the Sixth Street and Seventh Street bridges. As a permanent arrangement of piers for the above three bridges either of two logical plans may be adopted. The first is to retain the existing two-spans center-pier arrangement of the Sixth Street and Seventh Street bridges, conforming to the center pier plan required by the United States Engineers for the new North Side Point bridge, and reconstruct the Ninth Street bridge upon the same general plan. The other is to reconstruct all three bridges with two piers and three spans each, as recommended by the local office of the United States Engineers. The first or cen- tral pier plan has the merit of economy of construction in that it involves the construction of no new piers for the Sixth Street and Seventh Street bridges, and permits the continued use of the existing superstructures of the Sixth Street and Seventh Street bridges by simply raising them to the elevation that may be de- cided upon and ordered. So far as we can ascertain, in view of the center pier plan adopted for the North Side Point bridge, the advantage to navigation appears to lie on the side of adhering to a center pier plan for these bridges also. On the other hand, there is no doubt that three-span bridges could be made more 156 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS agreeable in appearance than two-span bridges. But the possible gain in appearance alone does not appear sufficient to justify the adoption of three spans. The next bridge above Ninth Street is that of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad. This has been constructed with two main piers providing one main central channel 337.5 feet wide and three other piers giving four channels from 155 to 163 feet wide. Owing to the bend in the river at the bridge and the distance above the Ninth Street bridge, there is no valid objec- Paris bridges and boats—low boats to fit bridges tion to this single main central channel at the railroad bridge connecting either with two channels divided by the central piers of the bridges below, or with a central channel if those bridges should be reconstructed on the three-span plan. The Sixteenth Street bridge has been constructed with 3 piers dividing the river into 4 channels of about 150 feet each; the clear head room beneath it is less than that now given by the bridges below it. The best arrangement to be made with this bridge is to require it to be rebuilt without the central pier, leaving a central channel about 320 feet in width between the two side piers to correspond with the railroad bridge just below it. It is an old, covered, wooden bridge, in poor physical condition, and, as pre- viously noted, it is probable that it must be raised anyhow in connec- tion with eliminating railroad grade crossings on the approaches. The Thirtieth Street bridge has its piers properly spaced to leave a central channel 285 feet in clear width and no changes are required in pier and channel location at this bridge. ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 157 The Thirty-third Street or Pittsburgh Junction Railroad bridge of the Baltimore and Ohio System has 3 piers, giving a main central channel of 232 feet wide, with side channels 195 feet wide, and on the Herrs Island side of 150 feet. No change is needed in the location of the piers and channels at this bridge. The Forty-third Street bridge is built with 3 piers, making 4 channels each of about 160 feet wide. It gives less clear head room at high river stages than most of the lower river bridges. It is an old wooden bridge, in poor physical condition. The best arrangement for this bridge is to treat it as the Sixteenth Street bridge, and to require it to be rebuilt, omitting the central pier and leaving a central channel about 300 feet wide, to correspond with the bridges below it. The elimination of railroad grade crossings on the approaches to this bridge is already a pressing public need and must soon result in its raising or reconstruction at a higher level. Considerations against Requiring Changes in Bridges To Be Made at Present.—The following important questions, having a direct bearing upon the proper design of permanent bridges across the Allegheny River, are now under consideration: 1. The Flood Commission is getting data for studying the question of a protective embankment along the river front, and of the proper grades of streets and bridge approaches in the region subject to inundation. The design of such flood-protection works should have important bearing upon the grade, location and design of the permanent bridge abutments. This Commission is also studying the question of impounding the flood waters of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in their upper valleys, which may result in materially lessening the height and velocity of floods in the harbor of Pittsburgh, and consequently, simplify the bridge and navigation problems of the harbor. 2. The question of the best routes for surface cars and rapid transit lines crossing the Allegheny River is now being studied for the City as a part of a comprehensive plan for traction improvements. The result of these studies might readily affect the design of the new bridges. 3. The government experiments recommended by Colonel Alexander of the River and Harbor Committee and authorized in the River and Harbor bill just passed by Congress and providing 158 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS for the development of a more economical and efficient type of river-boats, requiring less head room than the present antiquated types, may soon show results that would have a decided influence in determining the reasonable clearance heights of bridges. 4. Attention is also invited to the fact that the people of Pitts-. burgh have voted to expend about $7,000,000 in certain public improvements. Among these are the cutting down of the “Flump,” an obstructive hill in the city’s midst, widening some A typical Paris boat and tows streets and filling certain other streets in the North Side and West End that are flooded at high river stages. The material from the ‘‘Hump” in the vicinity of the Court House is to be hauled to these North Side streets across the lower Allegheny bridges under question. The work is of great magnitude and it will take at least two years to complete it. Any material alteration to the bridges such as proposed by the Board of Engineers will require a long time to be carried into effect. While this bridge work would be under way, the transportation of the material ex- cavated from the ‘‘Hump” and the filling up of the low grade streets of the North Side would have to cease or would be carried on with great difficulty and inconvenience to other traffic. This. would tie up the whole work while it is in progress, causing material injury to the city, for it is to be extremely annoying and bothersome while it is in progress, and the longer this period is. strung out the worse it will be. ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 159 For all of the above reasons we believe that to precipitate the actual reconstruction of the bridges at this time would be most undesirable for the city and prejudicial to the best results, in the long run, for all concerned. RECOMMENDATIONS In conclusion we beg to recommend as follows: 1. That the Sixteenth Street and Forty-third Street bridges, which are obstruc- tions to navigation on account of their pier locations, narrow channels, and exceptionally low clearance height, be required to be rebuilt with their piers so located as to give channels con- forming to the neighboring bridges, and that their elevation be fixed with regard to eliminating the railroad grade crossings on their approaches, but the minimum clearance shall be fixed in accordance with the closing paragraph below. 2. That the Ninth Street bridge should be rebuilt as soon as practicable with a center pier and two wide spans conforming to those of the Sixth Street and Seventh Street bridges. The design of the new Ninth Street bridge, however, should not be finally determined and erection begun until a definite plan for comprehensive improvements in the traction system between the two sides of the river has been decided upon. Unless new circum- stances develop before the construction of this bridge is begun that materially affect the problem of clearance height, the elevation should be fixed in accordance with the closing paragraph below. 3. That all questions pertaining to changing the elevation of the Sixth Street, Seventh Street, Fort Wayne, Thirtieth Street and Junction Railroad bridges be deferred to await the report of the Pittsburgh Flood Commission and the resultant action; to await the report on a comprehensive plan for traction improvements; to. await the completion of the work projected by the City in cutting down some streets and filling others; and to await the results of investigation of river-boat design and construction provided for in the River and Harbor bill just passed by Congress. 4. That, if it is deemed essential and necessary at present to decide upon the elevation to which all Allegheny River bridges must be made to conform, this elevation be fixed so that there shall be a clear head room of substantially 37 feet above pool level, varied so as to give at each bridge a clear head room 160 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS of 28 feet when the river is at a 15-foot flood stage. This height to be maintained over the entire main span where there is a cen- tral span and for 180 feet on each side of the central pier where there is a central pier. We have the honor to be, very respectfully, Your obedient servants, THomas W. SYMONS, Col. Corps Engineers U. S. A., retired, FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED. APPENDIX I Amount and Importance of Bridge Traffic.—Highway Bridges. The following table gives the records of counts made in the fall of 1909, and spring of 1910 on the various bridges over the Allegheny River: Recorp oF CouNnTs.—TaBLe No. 1 Location of bridges Period of count ae t Boy aaa wee ser Pedestrians Sixth Street . . . .| Aug. 24-Oct. 23 [89,354/55,791|79,247| 9,534 | 24,583) 1,605,793 Ninth Street . . . . | Aug. 26-Sept. 30 |72,854] 8,961/14,846] 613 960] 185,158 Sixteenth Street . . . | Oct. 4-Oct. 17 *4,444/*7,764] . 76,495 Thirtieth Street. . . | Aug. 24—-Oct. 23 - «| 9,844]10,184| 667 447 96,485 Forty-third Street . . | Aug. 23-Nov 1 «| 8,159] 8,165} 987 2,179 130,744 RECORD OF CouNTs.—TABLE No. 1AT Location of bridges Period of count Peo poly pines oe Pedestrians : % Seventh Street Feb. 28-Mar. 3, 4or 4,800 273 1,035 29,146 4.557 * Automobiles and carriages included in counts for light and heavy wagons. t Table IA. The count at Seventh Street bridge was recorded by different units and, therefore, required a separate table. The North Side approach to this bridge was being improved at the time the count was made, causing a temporary interference with travel reflected in an abnormally small proportion of traffic on the bridge and a corresponding increase for the adjacent bridges. ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 161 Assuming that the average number of vehicles per day and the average tonnage per day are the same throughout the year as during the periods of counting, we deduce the following results: TraFric FOR YEAR 1909.—TABLE No. 2 Location of| Perioa| Street Heavy Light Car- Auto- 3 * bridges |otcount] cars wagons wanoné ines sobs | Pedestrians tenn {Total value 6th St. . 1909) 534,652)/333,829 |474,171 |57,013|147,095 |9,608,406 | 13,240,010 ;* 1,879,140,750 gth St. . 1909! 738,650) 90,812 |150,490 | 6,205} 9,709 |1,877,268 | 14,732,130) 2,201,473,500 16th St . 1909) . . . |115,851 |202,429 1,991,988 967,544 102,201,375 goth St. . 1909) . . . | 58,875 | 60,919 | 3,979] 2,664; 577,320, 398,430 44,233,500 43d St. . sea . . + | 42,522 | 42,559] 5,147 11352 | 681,710 | 311,090 32,478,500 TRAFFIC FOR YEAR 1909.—TABLE No. 2At Location of bridges re Dae ae Dee Pedestriaas vonieee }Total value Seventh Street . . | 29,273 | 351,400] 19,929 | 75,555 | 2,127,585 | 1,159,084 {149,862,600 *In estimating the gross tonnage, the following average weights were used: a street car with average load—rg tons; a heavy wagon (including team), averaging loaded and empty vehicles—q4 tons; a light wagon (including team), averaging loaded and empty vehicles—1.75 tons; an automobile or carriage (including team),—.g tons; pedestrians and passengers are figured at about 150 pounds apiece. {Estimating heavy and light wagons, including team and load at $125 per ton; car- riages and automobiles, including teams, at $300 per ton; cars at $160 per ton and live stock at $200 per ton, we get an average tonnage value of $150 over the Sixth Street, Sev- enth Street? and Ninth Street bridges, and $125 over the Sixteenth Street, Thirtieth Street and Forty-third Street bridges. t See Note under Table 1A. Railroad Bridges—The bridge carrying the heaviest traffic is that of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, a part of the Pennsylvania System, which forms one of the links in the main line of this railroad system between the East and West. Across this bridge are carried each year about 2,750,000 passen- gers, 32,000 tons of mail, and 53,000,000 tons of freight and gen- eral railroad traffic, besides about 2,135,000 pedestrians,* making it one of the greatest throats of commerce in the country. This is a double deck bridge of 4 tracks, 2 tracks on each deck, with a wide footway on the lower deck. It is to be noted that the * The figures for pedestrians, passengers and general tonnage are taken from the afh- davit of John C. Perrott. The tonnage of mail was obtained from the report of the U.S. Post-office Department. 162 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS amount’ of traffic passing over this bridge is about 25 times as much as that which floats on the water beneath it, and is far higher in quality and value per ton. The other railroad bridge crossing the river within the city limits is the Thirty-third Street viaduct of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This is a link in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between the East and the West and carries an enormous traffic amounting each year to about 217,000 passengers and 24,330,000 tons of freight, express and other trains. Uniting this with the trafic over the Fort Wayne bridge of the Pennsylvania we have crossing the Allegheny River on the two railroad bridges a gross amount of 77,330,000 tons, and’ 5,102,000 passengers and pedestrians, with a value of tonnage traffic estimated at approximately $4,957,000,000. APPENDIX II Amount and Importance of River Traffic.—The following sta- tistics were obtained from the United States Engineers’ office and show the number of boats, net tonnage and number of passengers passing Dam No. 1 in the Allegheny River during the year 1909: Tase No. 1 Month No. vessels | No. passengers a eae Jattuaty 20.0 sh Soca ee i ee 338 16 30,889 Bebruaty: geri Gece nes Sy ee de ge 358 18 30,073 Marchy «1:6 an Stowe %. Bote ee a RU a a Se 1,055 25 81,424 April ecg et oe sha Ge ae ee ee we 732 197 51,457 May sen ai el Be as Si ee a es es 896 1,506 57,269 JUG! yee SS ews Se! gs SE Ge ee BG 958 1,248 56,324 July’ aes ee Soe aw ee ee Sew oe gor 2,495 37,888 August: eee ee ei ew ae ete as “a as “es 868 2,019 29,102 September .o:.0 0 4 ek as, RW a SOE 1,006 1,681 36,759 OCHO DER se. sas eae hore ae Fee Me ey tay Se GP aa av Ss 955 982 53,622 November... ee ee a 789 616 42,827 December sos ec a ae ee we 495 231 29,086 Total aac see aes Bo ee A 95351 11,034 536,720 ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 163 The following are statistics of counts taken in 1909 at the different bridges: Tasie No. 2 Location of count Period covered by count Nee eee Sixth Street Bridge... 1... .. Aug. 24—Oct. 23 (61 days) 45534 Ninth. Street Bridge ....... Aug. 26—Sept. 30 (36 days) 35279 Fort Wayne Bridge ....... Aug. 20—Oct. 28 (70 days) 45925 Thirtieth Street Bridge... .. S Aug. 24—-Oct. 23 (61 days) 2,022 J.R. R. Bridge os se Sept. 13—Nov. 13 (60 days) 1,460 Forty-third Street Bridge eae at Te Aug. 23—Nov. 1 (70 days) 1,580 Assuming that the ratio between the number of vessels during any given period and the total for the year is the same at all bridges as at Dam No. 1; and assuming that the relative number of different kinds of vessels are the same at all bridges; and further assuming that the average weight of cargo is the same at all bridges as recorded at Dam No. 1, we reach the estimates of total traffic under the bridges given in Table No. 3. For THE YEAR 1909—T ABLE No. 3 Location of count No. of vessels oaeee ve : nie aa Sixth Street Bridge. . .. ... 21,763 1,097,378 1,247,020 2,344,398 Ninth Street Bridge ... ~~. 25,904 1,311,823 1,484,299 2,796,122 Fort Wayne Bridge ...... 20,685 1,043,020 1,185,250 2,228,270 Thirtieth Street Bridge... . . 9,706 489,416 556,154 1,045,570 J. R. R. Bridge... 2 eae oe 8,030 404,905 460,119 865,024 Forty-third Street Bridge 2 es 6,636 334,613 380,243 714,856 *The following data as to weight of vessels was kindly furnished by Mr. J. F. Tilley: WEIGHTS OF RIVER CRAFT WITHOUT FREIGHT Medium tows. ......-+-+-6- gm Sis Ga Se et . . . 800 tons Pool tows ..... ay Sarat Say SS By Sy Sas, 7a, Sh SL Ssh ee a +. . « «175 tons IBARgeS) ae ay wens HS ew Ow RR OS SOS HE a AS , Se 55 tons Goal! boats: a: ii save: ees ete ees a Se ae ea des ey SY ee Re ws SS ros tons BAS) coe oes ete ae a ee Sh WY Sh ey eee St ah, ew 30 tons In estimating we assumed the following average weights for river craft, based in large measure upon the above data: Stéamboats: 22 Sue ee a ee ee Se es ae ewe eR Se w 5 BBG tons Coal boats and barges. . 2 1. 2 1 1 ee ee ee ee ee 80 tons Barres: 8. 4 aa Ss eh ei de Be BP ee ee es ee ee ee » 55 tons House boats, excursion boats, yachts, and U. S. Government boats. 45 tons Launches, skiffs, etc. . . 2. 2... 2 ee ee PE P@a ee ee ® Eton Motor boats and miscellaneous .. .. . { . . . Io tons The largest total, that passing steele die Ninth Street bridge, is without doubt somewhat less than the total traffic on the river, 164 PITTSBURGH—SPECIAL REPORTS and a careful study of the figures would seem to indicate that the total water-borne traffic of the Allegheny River in 1909 amounted to about one and three-quarter (1%) million tons of cargo or three and one-half (3%) million tons gross displacement, includ- ing cargoes, barges, tugs and all vessels. The water-borne commerce on this river is of the cheapest character, consisting almost entirely of sand and gravel dredged. from the rivers and coal floated down the Monongahela and delivered along the shores. All this sand, gravel and coal is car- ried in low-lying barges or scows moved by tugs or towboats. A small amount of package freight comes in and leaves by packet boats. Tasie No. 4 TONNAGE PASSING DAM NO. I DURING YEAR 1909. (OBTAINED FROM UNITED STATES ENGINEERS) Coalleds e263 BS we ie SAS RAS SORES eS 231,232 tons Other iron or steel products .....-..- 22 wees 428 tons Sand) ce. 2 as Gee HERR ek ee a eee 132,894 tons Gravelis «4 4 @ 8 #4 SS RAR Oe BO = Hw ww a E23,679 "tons Brick gaye oS RO ee ele oe oS ee Se eee 75 tons Stone: vais si Sh a A Go at we ee A ae 3,869 tons SPAMDER: ae oat by ie eve oe SE SA he Bc ek ee 8,519 tons umber 2 se os Br SR a) RE a ee a J a 3,519 tons Pit ipostses woe hw Seo Angee dh ee ew Re ee eS 13,950 tons Braces ss ok ay GSE SE ROS SM eR oe ele 600 tons Railroad Ges 23. ae Se eR OE eR SS OE 6,650 tons WiO6d ies ae BOR ae ee QR os a a 45 tons General merchandise . 2... 1 1 ee ee ee ee ee 3,119 tons New barsés: 2k a aes eS SE SAG B BAe es aS 2,628 tons New boats (coal)... ....... soe eee 4 ee) 3,940 tons Mbanure. i ariel eRe OR as Be I ,o0o tons Bark: ie a ek SS SS ES aS ee A ORS 455 tons The average value of the freight based on prices prevailing in 1910 is about $3 a ton. The average value of the carriers is about $65 a ton. As there is a slightly greater weight of freight than carrier, an average of $30 per ton would be a fair estimate of the value of freight and carriers. The total value of the water- borne traffic of the Allegheny River for the year under the vari- ous bridges would, therefore, be about $105,000,000. The passenger traffic on the river is so small that it may be considered negligible. It is estimated at 35,000, largely pleasure traffic in small boats. About one-third as much tonnage goes through Lock No. 2 ALLEGHENY RIVER BRIDGES 165 as through Lock No. 1, and about one-sixteenth as much goes through Lock No. 3 as through Lock No. 1. There is no navi- gation on the river above the third pool. It is claimed, however, that with the further canalization of the river above Dam No. 3 and the raising of the bridges this traffic would be greatly increased. It is to be hoped that there will be a considerable increase, but there are distinct limitations on the probable amount of the increase. The Monongahela has a larger and more highly favored local territory to draw upon for freight than the Allegheny so that under the best of conditions, with every possible improvement of navigation, the traffic on the Allegheny can never be expected to approach that upon the Monongahela. The total amount of freight of all kinds passing Dam No. 1 on the Monongahela in 1909, was 5,417,873, or a little more than ten times the amount on the Allegheny, while the tonnage pass- ing over the Allegheny bridges is thirty times greater than the tonnage on the Allegheny River.* Yet, if conceivably the traffic on the Allegheny should equal that now on the Monongahela, it would still be only one-third that over the Allegheny bridges. Since the figures for the present traffic over the Allegheny River bridges are used for comparison with the present river traffic, and since the former must continue to grow steadily with the growth of the Pittsburgh industrial district, it seems quite clear that no conceivable growth in the latter can seriously affect the overwhelming predominance of the bridge traffic in amount and value.* * See Diagrams 1, 2 and 3. INDEX Allegheny River Boulevard, 79. Allegheny River Bridges, 133-165. Allegheny River Heights, 145-149. Allegheny River Parkway, 120. Amount and Importance of Traffic, 137, 138, 160-162. Amount and Importance of River Traffic, 138-140, 162-165. Amount and Importance of Traffic Affec- ted, 137-140. Appendix I, Bridge Report, 169-162. Appendix II, Bridge Report, 162-165. Ardmore Thoroughfare, 73. Areas Reached by High- and Low-level Tunnel Routes, 54. Arlington Avenue and Washington Ave- nue Connection, 85. Aspinwall Bridge, The, 59, 60. Baltimore Surveys, 100. Batavia Street, 71. Bates Run Connection, 63, 64. Baum Street Improvement, 65. Beechview Thoroughfare, 83. Beechwood Boulevard Connection, 68, 69. Beechwood Boulevard Parkway, 120, 121. Beechwood Boulevard Re-alignment, 70. Bell Avenue Extension, 73. Bellefield Improvement, The, ror—106. Bluff Street Hillside, 122. Boats for Non-Tidal Rivers, 151-153. Boundary Street Improvement, 69. Braddock Avenue—Northerly End, 72. Braddock Avenue Viaduct, 72. Bridge Report, Special, 133-165. Bridges over the Seine, Paris, 154. Bridge Street Improvement, 78. Bridge Traffic, 137, 138, 160-162. Brighton Road Connection, 75, 76. Brighton Road Viaduct, 76. Brownsville Road, 86. Butler Street Improvement, 59. California Avenue and Brighton Road Extension, 75, 76. Bridge Carrick Connection from the South Hills Tunnel, 84, 85. Carson Street, 79, 80. Center Avenue Improvement, 65. Chartiers Avenue Grade Crossing, 80. Chartiers Valley Parks, 118. City and the Allegheny River Bridges, The, 133-165. Civic Center, A, 11- 7. Clearance Heights, Conclusions as to, 153. Comparison of Bridge and River Traffic, 140. Considerations against Requiring Changes in Bridges to be made at Present, 157- 159. Corliss Street, 80, 81. Cost of Living in Pittsburgh, XIII. Crafton-Carnegie Connection, 81. Crafton Hillside Thoroughfare, 81. Diamond Street Widening, 17. Down Town District, The, 5-30. Dravosburg and Mifflin Township Thor- oughfares, 74,7 - Duquesne Bridge, 75. Eastward Arteries and Their Improve- ment, 6-9. East Liberty Improvements, 65-67. East Ohio Street, 77, 78. East Street, 76, 77. Effect of Different Bridge Heights upon River Traffic, 145-151. Effect of Various Possible Bridge Heights upon the Traffic Over the Bridges, 141- 145. Effect of Various Solutions, 140. Eighth Avenue Branch to Dravosburg, 75. Eighth Avenue Branch Westward, 75. Eighth Avenue Improvement, 75. Ellsworth Avenue Extension, 62. Etna Improvement, 78. Etna Park, 118. Etna Playground, 118. Fairhaven County Road, 84. (167) 168 Fifth Avenue—Center Avenue Connec- tions at Soho, 61, 62. Forbes Street—Fifth Avenue Connection at Soho, 60, 61. Forbes Street Artery, 47-49, 60, 61. Forbes Street Extension, 72, 73. Forty-third Street Bridge, 59. Full Report (Allegheny River Bridges), 134-165. General Map of the Pittsburgh District, Facing page 1. General Plan of Down Town District, Facing page 9. Glenwood Bridge, 64, 65. Grade Crossings, 10, 56, 57, 59, 64, 71, 75; 78, 79, 80. Grant Boulevard, 106-108. Grant Boulevard Extension, 11. Greenfield and Squirrel Hill Extension, 64. Greenfield Avenue Connection, 64. Greensburg Pike, 74. Greensburg Pike South of Turtle Creek, 74. Guyasuta Park, 120. Haights Run Bridge, 59. Haights Run Thoroughfare, 67, 68. Haights Run Valley Park, 121, 122. Hamilton Avenue Extension, 65, 66. Hazelwood Grade Crossing, 64. Highway Bridges, 141-144, 160, 161. Hillsides, Steep, 109-112. Howley Street Connection, 58. “Hump Cut,” The, ro, 11, 128-132. Index to Outlying Thoroughfare Improve- ments, 88-91. Introduction, 1-4. Introduction (Allegheny River Bridges), "133. Lang Avenue Connection, 83. Larimer Avenue Extension, 66. Letter of Transmissal, XI. Lowry’s Lane, 77. Main Arteries (Main Thoroughfares), 44-56. Main Arteries (The Down Town District), 5, 6. Main Street Grade Crossing, 79. Main Thoroughfares, 31-92. Management and Cost of Surveys, 98. Maps of Surveys, 96-98. Market Street Widening, 17, 18. INDEX Market, The, 18, 123-128. Meadow Street Connection, 68. Millvale Playground, 118. Millvale Thoroughfare, 78. Modern Type of Boats for Non-tidal Rivers, 151-153. Monongahela Hillside Thoroughfare, 62, 63. Moultrie Street Playground, 117. Mt. Washington Hillside, 122. Murray Avenue Extension, 60, 70. Need for Surveys, Pittsburgh’s, 93, 94. Negley Run Boulevard, 66. Negley Run Parkway, 121. Neighborhood Parks, 113-116. New York Surveys, 98, 99. Nine Mile Run Park, 119, 120. North Side Improvements, 75-77. Objects to Be Secured by Surveys, 94, 95. Ohio Street, East, 77. Outlying Thoroughfare Improvements, 56-92. (Index, 88-91.) (Map, 92.) Park Opportunities, Special, 117-122. Parks and Recreation Facilities, 101-122. Parks, General Discussion, 113-117. Penn Avenue Artery, 44-46. Penn-Liberty Connection at Street, 58. Piers and Channels, 153-157. ; Plan for the Proposed Hump Cut, 129. Point, The Improvements of the, 29, 30. Purpose of the Report, XIII. Railroad Bridges, 144, 145, 161, 162. Rankin Improvement, 72. Rankin Playground, 118, 119. Recommendations (Allegheny River Bridges), 133, 134, 159, 160. Howley Recommendations, Specific (Main Ar- teries), 44-56. Recommendations, Specific (Outlying Thoroughfares), 536-92. Recommendations, Urgent, 2, 3. River Traffic, 138-140, 162-165. Rural Parks, 116, 117. Sample Maps, 98. Sassafras Street Outlet, 58. Sawmill Run Hillside Thoroughfare, 83, 84. Sawmill Run Parkway, 119. Sawmill Run Thoroughfare, 81, 82. Second Avenue Extension, 70, 71. INDEX Second Avenue Freight Yards, 10. Sharpsburg Bridge, 59. Silver Lake Playground, 121. Sixteenth Street Bridge, 56. Sixth Avenue, 9, 10. Soho Connections, 60-62. South Eighteenth Street, 85, 86. Southern Avenue Connection, 82, 83. South Hills Artery, 49-56, 81-85. South Hills Tunnel and Thoroughfare Routes, Profiles of, 53. South Side Improvements, 49-56, 79, 85~ 87. South Tenth Street, 86. Special Park Opportunities, 117-122. Special Reports, 123-165. Special Types of Thoroughfares, 34-37. Squaw Run Park, 120. Squaw Run Thoroughfare, 79. Stanton Avenue Connection to the Lin- coln District, 68. Steep Hillsides, rog—112. Streets Run, 74. Surveys and a City Plan, 93-100. Sycamore Street Grade Crossing and Bridge Street Improvement, 78. Technical Procedure for Surveys, 95, 96. 169 Thirty-third Street Improvement, 57, 58. Traffic Center, A New, 9. Troy Hill Road, 77. Try Street Grade Crossing, ro. Tunnel Routes, Areas Reached by High- and Low-Level, 54. Twenty-eighth Street Grade Crossing, 57. Twenty-second Street Bridge Approach— South Side, 86, 87. Types of Thoroughfares, Special, 34-37. Unified Procedure for City, County and Borough, 43, 44. Washington Avenue Improvement, 82. Washington Avenue Improvement East, 85. Washington Road, 81. Water Front, The, 19-28. West Broadway Extension, 83. West End Improvements, 80, 81. Widening Old Streets, 37-43. Width of Thoroughfares, 31-34. Wilkinsburg-Edgewood Connection, 71, 72. Wilkinsburg Grade Crossings, 71. Wilkins Township Thoroughfares, 73, 74. Wind Gap Road, 80. Woodstock Avenue Extension, 73. nase eameere ee Secterteaeag Soe mate tee se ae ele inate sc Escenas te raat penc bee caer general ieee chr teruaecs terriers Tigh eteneth poe ear cei arsemet gt Seer ET steppin hte sonlipeaneserr ee ined tetera eraesyos Tevene tgaay prbeneewe sso eeeesl et pater ered?