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44
Watering.
Some hydrants were fixed in the autumn of last year
upon the unpaved footways in Mile End Road, extending
from Eagle Place to Cambridge Road. These
were intended for watering the road and footway, and
specially for washing away any snow which might fall
during the winter months.
I find that the traffic of the road is too great for them
to be generally used for that purpose, but that they are
admirably adapted for watering the wide unpaved footway,
and their use must have been a great boon to the
houses of business in this part of the road.
During the year the water carts and waggons were
employed eighty-one days at a cost of £798 2s. 6d. for
horses and drivers, and of £334 8s. 6d. for 7,966,000
gallons of water supplied by the East London Water
Company.
Tramways.
The condition of the tramway in the Mile End Road
is anything but satisfactory. The Company having
charge of it have re-laid a length equal to 400 yards of
single line, with new steel rails, sleepers, and pitching
during the year, but much remains still to be done, and
while a single rail of the old pattern remains the road
cannot be in a satisfactory state.
The Commercial Road, Burdett and Grove Roads,
now begin to show symptoms of wear, but in these
cases it is only a matter of re-laying and re-dressing
the paving to make the roads as good, or nearly so, as
they were when first constructed.