Page:New York arcade railway as projected .. (McAlpine, William Jarvis, 1884).djvu/11

11 In 1877, the Metropolitan had expended on its line from Aldgate to South Kensington (7 $8/10$ miles of the main track and 2 $6/10$ miles of widening, etc., for this portion of the " Inner Circle,") as follows:

Including some unpaid accounts, the cost per mile for this 10 $4/l0$ miles was $3,339,645.

During the year 1882 the passengers carried were as follows :

Mileage of passenger trains 1,399,926 1,098,736

New York City is very differently situated. The business is chiefly confined to the lower end of the island, and there is but one natural free outlet, which is directly Northward. This route is confined by deep water channels, the passage of which is obstructed by fogs, ice and all of the discomforts, delays and dangers of ferry voyages.

The immense business which is concentrated at the lower, narrow end of the city has shown that the streets in that section are too few for the business and the houses. The property is too valuable to permit the opening of new streets or even the enlargement of those existing.

The number of drays and carts alone, daily passing in Broadway, are more than seven thousand. These with vehicles entering from the side streets frequently so gorge and obstruct this great thoroughfare that travel is for hours entirely suspended.

The immense loss and annoyance through this obstruction is greatly aggrevated by the street being constantly torn up in connection with sewer, gas, water, steam heating and other pipes. The surface and elevated railways offer inconvenient and insufficient accommodation to passengers between that portion of the city devoted to business and that occupied by residences, yet they are crowded to their utmost capacity, because nothing better is afforded.