An Important Position
A Bridge Keeper an Absolute Necessity, and He Should Be Kept
A plea to Austin's city council not to abolish the bridge keeper's post, describing how the officer manages dangerous daily congestion of up to 2,100 vehicles crossing a narrow bridge.
NewsPipe summary
The Austin Weekly Statesman · December 24, 1896 · Page 6
1 min readSpeaking to members of the city council yesterday, they stated that the position of bridge keeper and pound master are yet to be acted on.
From information furnished The Statesman, the first named is a position of importance, and it should not be abolished. No locality in the city demands more constant and watchful care than the bridge. At this season of the year the crowding vehicles on the narrow bridge is a daily menace to limb and life. Bridgekeeper Schneider has on many occasions saved the lives of women and children, and scores of times has prevented accidents that would have inevitably, seriously injured persons on the bridge. Councilmen can measurably appreciate the situation down there at this season of the year when it is stated that an average of about 1200 vehicles cross the bridge from 6 o'clock in the morning until 6 o'clock in the evening. Count has frequently been kept and printed in The Statesman showing that, on some days as high as 2100 vehicles cross the bridge.
There is hardly a day now that the bridge keeper is not called on to untangle a jam on the bridge and often he has to stretch an iron cable across the end of the bridge to prevent runaway teams from the Avenue rushing upon the bridge and crashing into vehicles. In this way alone, the bridge keepers during the past few years have saved the lives of many people.
It may be stated that at this time, owing to the deplorable condition of the floor of the bridge, the bridge keeper is busy putting in new timbers. Not a day passes that he is not at work repairing the floor. He should be kept there, for as stated, there is no place in all the city more in need of the watchful care of an officer.
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