Pike Street Property Owners Foot Most of a $55,000 Paving Bill
The city engineer split the cost of paving Pike Street between Seattle and the abutting owners; the contractor was ready to start work.
City Engineer Thomson yesterday filed with the board of public works his apportionment between the city and the property owners of the cost of paving Pike Street under the contract recently let to James Spurr. The engineer's estimate was slightly in excess of the contract amount, calling for about $55,000, of which the city's portion was about $6,600 and the property owners' about $48,400. Mr. Spurr has announced that he will commence work immediately.
“Mr. Spurr has announced that he will commence work immediately.”
Seattle still debates who should pay when a street is rebuilt, and assessments on abutting property owners remain a live civic fault line. The 1895 Pike Street job shows the same argument in an earlier growth boom: public infrastructure, private bills.
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