PARK AND CEMETERY. 
334 
Thus the parkway is monopolized at 
times by heavy traffic. Another un- 
pleasant experience in building this 
parkvva}", the Board speaks of as fol- 
lows : 
“The action of some of the adjoining 
mony with the landscape than a cor- 
rectly designed Japanese torio would 
be. At the westerly entrance to the 
garden, where the view is more open, 
a strict adherence to the Japanese 
design is more ai)propriate. 
two ten thousand gallon tanks placed 
on concrete foundation, where the oil 
can he handled by gravity from the 
tank cars into the stora.ge tanks and 
from there by gravity into the dis- 
tri1)uting tank wagons. The plant 
GATE IN JAPANESP: GARDEN. COMO PARK. 
property OA^■ners is still more to be re- 
gretted. chiefly on account of their land 
hunger, manifested by pushing their build- 
ings so close to the line that they have to 
walk on park ground to get around their 
houses, thereby cheapening their holdings 
and destroying the dignity of the improve- 
ment made on the parkway. The plans for 
improving this street were worked out with 
the idea that property owners along the 
line would co-operate with the Board to the 
end of mutual benefit, but the experience 
of the Board would show that its own in- 
terest demands the sidewalk to be laid 
along the property line, instead of preserv- 
ing a thi]'ty-foot front lawn for practical 
private use with no consideration in return. 
The Board and its members are now threat- 
ened with a lawsuit by some property owner 
on the parkway for trees and shrubbery 
which obstruct an open view, not of the 
frontage, but to a street one-half block 
away, to which there is no access of front- 
age direct thereto.” 
Extensive betterments have been 
made in Como Park. A new concrete 
foot bridge, to replace the old and di- 
lapidated wooden structure, was con- 
structed over the canal connecting 
Cozy Lake with the main lake. This 
bridge is 12 feet in width over all 
and of a design especially fitting for 
the locality. The cost was $754.10. 
An entrance or “Torio” to the 
Japanese Garden was also built; 
while the nature of the design is not 
strictly Japanese, it is more in har- 
The grading of the ten-acre stad- 
ium in the northwest section of Como 
was commenced and altout two acres 
of it were graded. The completion 
of this playground in all its details 
will cost $75,000. 
The Xelnmbium pond and rocker 3 ", 
for eight years delayed, will be com- 
pleted this season; the cement work 
was practically finished and the rock- 
ery can be completed this year. 
This improvement is designed to 
demonstrate the art of water gar- 
dening and rock-work on an extens- 
ive scale. 
Two hundred thirty-one feet of ce- 
ment l)enches were constructed at a 
cost of $167.33, making the expense 
7:1.4 cent.s per foot. Six cement drink- 
ing fountains were made and placed 
at different locations in the park. The 
new concrete comfort station for men 
was completed at a total cost of $1,- 
365.06. 
After considerable study and ob- 
servation by Superintendent Nussban- 
mer as to methods and results ob- 
tained in other cities, a road oiling 
plant to receive the oil in carload 
lots was established, consisting of 
worked admirably both as to econ- 
omy and efficiency. The total cost of 
the oil plant was $2,213.14. 
A contract was entered into with 
the Indian Refining Co. of Cincinnati 
to deliver 60,000 gallons of crude oil 
containing from 55 to 60 per cent of 
asphaltnm at a price of 4.06 cents per 
gallon f. o. b. side track Como. 
The oiling is considered a success 
both from the standpoint of economy 
in preser^'i^g the road, and the abol- 
ishing of the dust nuisance which has 
heretofore never been accomplished 
liy sprinkling the driveways with 
water. "Automobile traffic on oiled 
roads," says Superintendent Xuss- 
baumer, “demonstrates that heavy 
motor cars, going at a high rate of 
speed, need a coarse stone cushion for 
the top surface, as this will not yield 
to the suction strain of the rubber 
tire, while the line particles of road 
materi.'il are remox-ed from the com- 
pact roadbed, the same as on untreat- 
ed roads, and the methods of road 
construction must be reversed, plac- 
ing the binder under and rolling the 
coarse stone into the binder for a 
road »nrface.” 
