Phœnix Ry. Co. v. Geary

209 F. 694, 1914 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1215
District Court, D. Arizona·Decided December 27, 1914·No. No. E-11·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

MORROW, Circuit Judge

(orally). In this case it appears from the complaint and affidavits filed in its support that the Phoenix Railway Company of Arizona owns and operates a system of street railways in the city of Phoenix; that a track of this system extends along Washington street in that city from Sixteenth street on the eastern boundary of the city, westerly through the business part of the city to Seventeenth avenue on the west; that commencing at the eastern terminus of the Washington street line, at Sixteenth street, and then running west to Seventh street, a distance of nine blocks, the line consists of a single track; that from Seventh street to Seventh avenue, a distance of fourteen blocks, in the business section of the city the line consists of a double track; that from Seventh avenue to Seventeenth avenue, a distance of ten blocks, the line is a single track, with a switch for a turnout between Twelfth and Thirteenth avenues for the passage of cars meeting at that point. At Seventeenth avenue the line turns north in front of the State Capitol and runs one block to Adams street and then turns onto and runs along Adams street to Twenty-Second avenue, the western terminus of the road.

The order of the Corporation Commission which is the subject of the complaint in this case requires the complainant to double-track its line from Seventh avenue to Seventeenth avenue, a distance of ten blocks. In the State Capitol immediately west of Seventeenth avenue,, to which, point the Corporation Commission orders the extension of the double, track, is located the offices of the Governor of the state and the Assembly Chambers of the state Legislature, the courtroom of the Supreme Court of the state, and the chambers of its judges, together with the law library of the state. Therq are also in the State Capitol the offices of the land commissioners, who hold frequent, sessions, the Corporation Commission, the defendant in this case, the state tax commissioners, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General, with their assistants and clerks. All these people are dependent upon this single-track railway from the Capitol to Seventh avenue in the direction of the business portion of the city .of Phoenix. From Seventh avenue eastward to the business portion of the city the track is a double track. On Washington street between Tenth and Twelfth avenues is located the public library and its park, frequented by the people of Phoenix. In the vicinity of the State Capitol there is an estimated population of from 1,200 to 1,500. The city of Phoenix as a whole is [696] estimated to have a population of 25,000. Tor these people employed at the Capitol and living in that neighborhood, a reasonably quick service is required to and from the business portion of Phoenix. The affidavits before us set forth that there are delays in the transit of the cars over the single track of the railway, by reason of the fact that there is but a single turnout for this track between Seventh avenue and Seventeenth avenue; that a car going either east or west arriving at the turnout between Twelfth and Thirteenth avenues ahead of a car going in the opposite direction must wait until the other car arrives at the turnout.

It appears to the court from the evidence that this is a real, substantial inconvenience to the public residing in and frequenting that part of the city of Phoenix in and around the Capitol and the public library, and we believe it to be the duty of the complainant upon the showing made upon this motion to comply with the order of the Corporation Commission and double-track this line from Seventh avenue to Seventeenth avenue, so that the inconvenience of delays may be avoided.

It appears that the cost of the double trackage will only amount to about $13,000; that the value of the company’s street, railway property in Phoenix is something like $500,000. We think it would be no great hardship upon the complainant to make this improvement.

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Phœnix Ry. Co. v. Geary, 209 F. 694, 1914 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1215 (D. Ariz. 1914).

209 F. 694 (Phœnix Ry. Co. v. Geary) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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99 P.2d 702 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1940)
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187 P. 933 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1920)