The Washington times., 1925-06-06
SUBURBS BUILD.
FAST As CARS
INCREASE
Many Cities Losing Trade by
Parking Ban, Unnecessary
on Wide D. c. Streets
By DONALD McDOUGAL.

By DONALD McDOUGAL.
New roads are being opened up
at the rate Of 100 miles every
working day of the year, through
out the United States.
And Henry Ford is turning out
cars at the rate of 1000 q day to
run on them-a new car to every
seventy-five feet Of new road. Ano
other manufacturers are filling In
| the gaps with their scores and
hurfdreds of daily output.
Kind of a hopeless outlook, isn't
| 1t? What's the use Of building
| hundred.miIe stretch Of new road
every day If the factories are going
| to fill it chock-a. block with ma
chimes before the concrete sets?
And every day somewhere round
six or seven thousand of the rising
generation reach the drivers age,
and volunteer to operate the ma.
| chimes.
IL you bet that on January 1,
1926, there'lI be 100000 more cars
In use in this country than there
were on January /, 1925, it'll be
such a sure thing that you really
| ought to be arrested, II you can
find q taker.
Country Getting Roads.
| But while the stream Of new
cars is being poured into country
and city alike, all the new roads
are going to the rural regions. That
leaves the cities holding the bag.
They're like the man who had
cow, but had no place TO put er.
And every year there's g cute ut
/ tie calf to complicate things.
When you get your hundred miles
| Of road built, a real estate man
comes out there and starts a sub
division. Hitherto innocent corn
and turnip land blossoms into =
house and lot proposition, with
| garage in the rear. And car or
| two in the gargae.
BY the time fifteen lots or so are
disposed of, or sooner, the owners
begin agitation for water service,
sewers, electric lights, gas; stores
come into being, and repair stations
and filling stations. That means
more hauling, better road facilities;
| the hundred-mile stretch becomes
part of the State road, or a trans
/ continental highway. Then an
other hundred-mile stretch branches
eff from that, and the process IS
repeated indefinitely and no RELIEF
| in sight until the supply of petro-
lcum runs out. And that, they say.
Is about 300 years away. And Dy
that time they'll probably invent
| something worse.
Within twenty miles Of the Capi-
| toI dome lie some 100000 acres OF
land, at least, usable for building
sites. A map and a flivvering &c
quaIntance with the territory VIII
prove that to, anyone.
RipeninE For Building.
And this agricultural land is
ripening into building sites at the
rate of an acre an hour or so.
counting eight hours to the day
and 313 working days to the year.
All within twenty miles of Wash
lington. That's where they'll work,
most of those suburbanites. and
that's where they'll buy their suits
and hats and lawn-mowers ana
paint and theatR, tickets and get
their teeth filled and their corns
dressed and their hair marcelied or
shingled or tar-and.gravelled or
whatever it is they have done to
their roofs nowadays.
That is if they can find a place
70 park. And every acre or corn
land that evolves into garage
patch means so much less parking
space per customer.
When the. space per car reaches
certain minimum figure the GUS
toner goes somewhere else. Before
anyone but some crossroads genius
realizes what's happened enough
customers have been discouraged
away to keep a small-town depart
ment store busy.
The genius builds the store and
a 30 kv.n1 do 90 hn r.
chant becomes permanent.
All Of which means that as eur
rounding territory is developed con- ,.
gestion in the city streets increases,
and a greater and greater number
of people earn their money IN
Washington and spend it some
where else. And that doesn't make
for prosperity.
City Trade Threatened
Eight of the larger cities of the
United States have found their
business threatened by this ten"
dency, and have devised measures
which have partly overcome it.
Others see what's coming to
them, and are trying to avert it.
A committee of business men,
public officials and newspaper lnen
OF cleveland, ONiO, FcpOILS'
UNLESS THIS is DONE BUSl-
NESS WILL TEND TO DISTRlB-
UTE ITSELF AMONG OUTLYING
AND LESS CONGESTED CEN
TIERS.
"IF AN ADEQUATE SOLUTION !
OF THE DOWNTOWN PARKING
PROBLEM CAN BE WORKED
OUT BUSINESS HOUSES WlLL
FIND THEMSELVES ABLE TO
PREVENT THE TRADE WHICH
THEY HAVE BUILT UP FROM
SLIPPING AWAY IN THIS MAN
NER."
The problem of other cities is en- !
tirely different from Washington 8 |
problem. Their difficulty is to find |
room for moving vehicles. They |
have banned parking from the con-
gested sections, because there IS ,
literally nothing else to do. But |
they have lost trade by it, and they |
have given up hope of getting 1t /
back.
Room for Parking Here.
No one is going to run twenty |
miles to the city and park five |
blocks from where his purchases are |