Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-04-04

of building through roads up and
down and across the state had haen
exploded by the experience OF the
highway commission, IL has been
found there is very little demand fer
through highways. but there is great
need for Improved reads abeAt each
center of population, Practically alt
country travel is 70 and fTem market.
Later Ii motor vehicles make 1t pos,
sihle to SO longer distances. il may
be necessary to eeaaeet up the sys-
TENS OF highways Ead@tMg from
cities,
The only practical WAY to ind the
amount of. expenditure that Il Is
proper to spend upon given higA
way is by finding out just what the
traffic over II is, The commission has
established stations i'll Il places III
the state where the number and char
aeter of vehicles travelling daily have
been noted at various times for Is
months or more. One OF these sits
tons is ON Twelfth street In South
Rock Island, improved last sanmes
under the direction OF the highway
commission and through the effafts
of the Cemetery Road Improvement
association.
Country Population Counts.
1t has been determined that the size
Of city has little to do with the
travel TO and from it over given roads
the population of the country being
more important. 1t has also beer
found that where there are hard roads
the travel is more uniform throughout
the year than it is where the roads
the unimproved and are difficult to
travel over in the winter and early
spring.
Observations taken on Twelfth
street showed the average travel in
October, 1906, was 292 vehicles daily.
In December, 1907, after the road had
been improved, the travel averaged
SAG daily. In January, 1907, the daily
travel was 1G5 and in January, 1908
with the road improved, the average
was PCT. In February, 1907. the aver.
| age was 1877 and in the same month
this year it was $50 The increase.
however is largely due to DETECTION
from Ninth street
| Much of the prejudice against the
i road Improvement the speaker said
| is due to the circulation of false sta,
tisticS when the crusade was first un.
dertaken, and to the fear that the in
tention is to force upon the people
high taxation for the purpose of build
ing hard roads,, One of, the most i'm
portant features and one that has noi
been enlarged upon, is the element
of comfort which is one of the chief
considerations in making country
roads easier to travel over. There
| is no way to figure accurately what
| the financial benefits are.
| Relic of Ancient Times.
Referring to the Milan bridges, Mr..
Johnson said he had not expected to
find such relic of antiquity as toll
road or toll bridge here. In Mary
land. where he had had experience
in highway construction, there was
some excuse for this sort of thing.
There tolls are from to 6 cents per
mile and the farms that are on toll
roads are accounted the most desira-
Bile, though the road tax is from $50
to $50 per year. 1t has been figured
| that tax of cent per mile of travel
for upkeep is a reasonable one With
250 vehicles using road daily tax
of cent per mile would give over
$500 per year, or more than nine times
as much as it would cost to keep any
sort of permanent road improved
Mr.. Johnson said the interests of
cities and contiguous country districts
are Identical on the road question
and if it Were possible for highway
district to be formed similar to a
drainage district. disregarding politi
cal boundaries, it would be the ideal
Eway to secure permanent improve