To the Editor of the "Norra-Cama Datty News."
Sirn,—Being a Chinaman I am interested neither in the destruction nor the preservation of the Public Garden. But in my mind the plan of the Municipal Council to widen the Bund by taking a strip of the Garden is highly commendable, notwithstanding the ifice of a few trees. I hope the pal Council will be as zealous in improving traffic in other parts of the Settlements. Take for instance the area surrounded by the N. Soochow, N. Honan, Haining and N. Chekiang Roads where the roads, if any, are narrow and hardly accessible to traffic. 7 For years the traffic on the Szechuen Road bridge has been exceedingly heavy. Yet, so far as I can see, nothing has been done to divert a portion of it to other roads. If the Kiangse Road itself and the bridge had been widened, to-day with the Szechuen Road bridge closed the inconvenience would not have been so badly felt.
The N. Chekiang Road bridge is decidedly a mistake. Being a main thoroughfare from the S. N. R. station to the Chinese city through the most crowded part of both the French Concession and the Settlements its narrow gauge just permitting one tramear and one ricsha on each side shows the short-sightedness of the Municipal Council. Why did they not make a careful survey of the traffic in this part of the Settlements before planning for this bridge?
All bridges across the Soochow Creek between Honan and Chekiang Roads and the roads themselves need to be widened. I believe much of the traffic that has been thrown on the Szechuen Road bridge will be relieved. The Municipal Council has taken records of traffic on_all bridges across the Soochow Creek. But what is the use of these when the bridges and roads except the Honan, Szechuen, Chapoo and Broadway do not permit much of it.
Concluding, I hope the next improvement scheme of the Municipal Council wil] be directed to the area above mentioned.
T am, ete., S. S. Cuow.
Shanghai, June 22.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.