Evening star., 1927-05-10
City Planners Told Public
Service Must Replace In
dividuaI Motor Cars.
COL. WALD0N SEES
POPULATION DOUBLED
St. Louis Expert Says Ideal City"
Can Be Developed in Wash
ington Area.

of this country may be doubled ana
the problem of traffic congestion in
tensified. Col. . Sidney ID. Waldon.
chairman of the Detroit Rapid Transit
Commission, told the Conference on
City Planning at Wardman Park
Hotel today that there will have to
be a movement toward massed trans
portation instead of individual motor
ar travel in order to derive the great
est use from available street space.
This movement toward collective
transportation in large cities will have
to be brought about. however, by so
the character of public
carrier service that the people will
find it. to their advantage to use the
service, Col. Walden told the city
planners.
He was the first of group address
in gthe morning session of the con-
ference, after which the several hun
dred delegates called upon President
Coolidge shortly after noon.
Delegates Visit President.
The visit to the President was fol-
lowed by civic luncheon at the Viii
lard Hotel, presided over by Frederic
A. Delano, prominently identified with
the Improvement of the National Cap
ital. The principal address at the
luncheon was delivered by George Nc
Aneny, former president of the
Borough of Manhattan.
In an interview today Harland Bar
tholomew, city-planning expert from
st. Louis,A expressed the opinion that
the National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission has an opportunity
to develop Washington and the sur
rounding area of Maryland and Vir-
ginia into an ideal city. Mr.. Bar.
tholomew assisted in writing the coming
regulations of Washington six or
seven years ago, and has more recent.
ly been called in as consultant by
the Park and Planning Commission.
Has Best Basic Plan.
Washington has the best basic
plan on which to work of any city
In the United States" Mr.. Bartholo.
new said. 1T adopted its coming law
at an opportune time and also has
obtained a planning commission in
time to develop an excellent regional
plan for the entire metropolitan area
In and around the city. The action
OF Maryland and Virginia in creating
planning agencies to cooperate with
the National Capital will be a great
benefit"
Mr.. Bartholomew said the fact that
the National Capital Commission con-
slsts of combination of citizens and
officials will make for harmony in
carrying out city plans, because each
Will understand the viewpoint of the
other.
Discussion Is Opened.
Col. Waldon in opening discussion
at the morning session said that on
an average of $4,000, 900 increase in
population per decade, the United
states would have a. population of
ZIO,O0O.0OO, or double the present
number, within seven decades, and
tnat then people must spend more
time travelling back and forth over
greater distances in communities or
transportation must be improved.
He said that while the saturation
point in the use of street space al.
ready has been reached in large cities.
the saturation point has not been
reached in the number of automobiles.
and that as time goes on more people
must be brought to use collective
transportation instead of individual
automobiles in getting about the cities
IN order to get the greatest possible
use out of street areas.
Walden Gives Figures.
Col. Waldon gave figures showing
that the habit of street car and bus
riding increased in New York, while
at the same time it was going down
In Detroit, and the lesson to be gained
from the comparison is that in New
York more people found it to their ad-
vantage to use public transportation,
he said.
Others on the program at the morn.
ing session were Henry A. Barker,
chairman Of the City Planning Com
mission of Providence; Thomas Adams,
director of the regional plan of New
York, and Alfred Bettman, attorney
and member of the Cincinnati Plan
ming Commission.
Following the luncheon at the VIII.
lard, the delegates will make an auto
mobile tour of Washington during the
afternoon.
Will Discuss Washington.
The event of greatest interest TO
Washington will be the session at
Wardman Park tonight at o'clock,
devoted entirely to discussion of the
development of the National Capital
and it's environs. The speakers will
be Lieut.. Col. Grant, executive of
n l.
Engineer Commissioner Bell,
Frederic A. Delano, Edward II. Ben
nett, consulting architect for the pub
lie building program; Milton. B.
Medary, jr., president of the American
Institute of Architects and member of
the local planning commission; Fred
erick Law Olmstead, member of the
Park and Planning Commission;
Charles w. Eliot. city planner of the
local commission, and j. c. Nichols.
of the Park and Planning
Commission.
A number of the delegates joined in
4 round table discussion of coming
regulations at breakfast at Wardman
Park this morning, presided over by
Edward M. Bassett.
The high lights of the convention
yesterday, cleaned from a series of
meetings. informal dinner forums
and conferences, were:
Receipt of letter from President
Coolidge. expressing hope that the
city planners would carry home with
them definite interest in the Ma
tional Capital and it's improvement.
Announcement by John Nolen, pres
dent. that the Russell Sage Founda.
ton has just contributed $4,000 to aid
the National Conference on City
Planning to carry on 80 education
work in this field of national develop
nent during the coming year, with
under which the foundation
will give an additional $4,000 II the
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