The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1925-10-30
no SEEK LEGISLATION FOR
WIDENING OF ROADS

1
establish future road widths with
the particular view of eventually
increasing the width of the States
thoroughfares to 100 feet.
In explaining his proposal the
roads chairman said he believed in
making existing roads wider rather
than to undertake to build new
ones, primarily because of COM
munity development along the pres.
| emit routes. He also cited : the
| tremendous cost of building entirely
new arteries as an argument in
favor of the enlargement PLAN
Mr. Mackall will ask the Legis-
lature for an act similar to that lin
force in Pennsylvania under which
the highway department is author
lied to establish new and wider road
limits and protect them against
buildings and similar impediments
until such time as the State is in
position to acquire the land and
make the actual enlargement.
The Pennsylvania law, which has
been in effect two years. empowers
the State Highway Commissioner to
establish the width and lines of anv
State highway and provides "tha'
no landowner or tenant shall erect
any building or make any improve
ments within the limits of any State
highway after the width and linee
have been established and recorded
and if such improvements shall be
made thereafter no allowance will
be made therefor by the assessment
| If damages
1t is the opinion of Mr. Mackall
arteries throughout the State lis
upon u.s. 1t is situation that is
growing more critical every day and
it is realized also, that it would be
a physical and financial impossibility
to make all the necessary improve
ments Immediately.
Mr.. Mackall contends, however,
THAT the State should prepare for
that eventual development by draw
ing up its future road lines and pro-
tecting/ them from encroachment so
that when. actual work is possible
the land will be available for the
purpose.
To do this, he points out will cost
the State almost nothing if it takes
he necessary precautionary meas \
lres now. Delay, however, means 4
hat building along the roads will
continue so that when finances per
nit the enlargement program the
State will be faced with the proposiN
ton of paying large damage assess
ments because of the property il
will be necessary to buy and
1emolish.
The Legislature will be asked
therefore. to sanction the prepare
ton of new map of rights of way
for State roads. in which land will
be reserved to increase the width
of all trunk roads to one hundred
feet. These plans, in turn, would be
submitted to the various county
courts for record and the State then
could prohibit the erection of struc
lures on these reservations under
penalty of allowing no damage when
the time comes to raze such
improvements.
Maryland's widest roads now are
sixty-six feet This width obtains on
the York, Philadelphia and Reisters-
town roads, and on certain sections
of the Frederick and Liberty roads,
The Washington Boulevard is only
sixty feet wide, the Bel Air road has
widths varying from thirty to sixty
six feet and the Annapolis road i
only thirty-three feet in width.
Mr. Mackall believes that even
tually all OF these roads will have
70 be increased to 100 feet in width
70 accommodate traffic demands ano
that on some of them the improve
ment ought to be made as soon as
possible.
His plan for 100-foot road as
the ideal is similar to that favored
by Pennsylvania, providing space for
ten-foot sidewalks, sixty feet TO,
three traffic lanes in each direction
and the remainder as an allowance
of space between the traffic lanes
The three traffic lanes for each direc
ton contemplate space for parked
vehicles, slow moving vehicles an6
through traffic.
1t was pointed out that while
some sort of survey of industrial
and transportation conditions in the
State would have to precede the
road-line revision. Maryland's prob
lem in this respect in no wise woule
be as difficult as that encountered by
Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Nh q
virtually no statistics of this nature
prior to the recent two-year study