Concave Streets.

Progress, Volume V, Issue 7, 2 May 1910, Page 234

Concave Streets.

More than a century and a half ago Benjamin Franklin used to say that the proper way to make streets was with only one gutter, and that down the centre, as thai plan would take away all nuisance from the foot walks and send the deepest of the mud the furthest away from the same, so that the inconvenience of splashing from passing vehicles would be much diminished. The same idea, it is noteworthy, has been raised by a correspondent of a London paper Here is -what he says, and it is w orth considering : — "In the case of town roads it is rather strong statement to make, but it is none the less true, that nearly every street in modern lo\vns is constructed on the wrong principle — that is, it is made convex instead of concave in shape. Where town roads slighth concave, there would be no mud near the pavement at all. As things are now, the pavement is nearest the lowest part of the road, whereas it should be at the highest point of the road. A concave road would also enable slow traffic to keep quite f-pon-taneously to the highest and therefore the easiest part of the road for the horse to pull its load Another disadvantage of convex roads is that every heap of refuse is swept up close to the edge of the pavement, in some cases being actually deposited in part on the pavement, and it thus blocks up the gullies and drains, and even floods the pavement with water when the street is being washed or a sudden storm of rain descends. Smells, too, if any arise from the gratings, are close to the houses and the doors leading into them. In a concave street they would be as far away as possible in the centre of the roadway. Cab-stands for horse vehicles, it is true, are gradually becoming things of the past, but they may yet for some years be sources of nuisance and pollute many of our roads with manure, which, were the gutters in the centre instead of at the sides, would soon pass away into the proper drains without running over the road at each side. In a few cases in London special drains have been made for this purpose, and a portion of the road to this extent lias been made concave. But these instances are few and far between. The result of the old-fashioned convex construction is that all dirty water and mud thus collects on the sides where the pedestrian passes, and at a point also where travellers alight when descending from vehicles or driving up to houses or shops for business or pleasure. A gulf of liquid mud some'two or three inches in depth often separates the pavement from the roadway. are some of the inherent disadvantages of the

convex system of road-making in towns, as regards the wayfarers and frontages. In addition, there is always the question of expense to be considered, and it is obvious that with a concave street one drain would serve instead of two, with one set of gratings mid one system of connecting sewers with the main sewers beneath. In fact, there is everything to be said in favour of concave streets in towns, and very little in favour of the present convex form." Asphalt, wood, and many other things arc better than macadam, which takes up more impurities than they do. "But thai is another story.