Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-19


travel.
This system of major thoroughfares
within the District. or what might be
called A spider web, is carried out in
much greater detail than the planning
work IN Maryland and Virginia on "a
dial highways Outside of the District
the working out of details is in the
hands Of the local State or county or
municipal authorities While a basis
Of co-ordina ton with the authorities of
those States has been secured in respect
70 the planning outside the District the
Federal commission feels that details
should be carried out by the State COM
missions.
Commission Adopts Plan.
The commission. at its meetings on
September 81 and 90. adopted the thor
oughfare plan for the District which is
printed with this article. 1t should be
emphasized that the commissions func-
tion Is not merely to make certain dia-
grams and file them away or publish
them in a book. but is all the time eX-
erting pressure toward the execution
Of its plan. The commission is espe-
Cially fortunate in that 1t includes in
its membership the Engineer Commits
sioner of the District, the chief of En-
Cineers of the Army, who has to do
with the development of the rivers and
reclamation of the fats. and the d.
rector of public buildings and public
parks. Each of these, as an executive
official. can do much toward securing
the carrying out of the composite plan
which as member of the commission
he helped to develop.
This map shows the major thorough
fares of the District as distinguished
from streets. II is desirable, from the
standpoint Of determining street right
of-way widths. the width of paving, the
character of paving, the character of
lighting and all public Improvements of
that nature, to have in mind certain
streets as thoroughfares. While the
streets in a certain section bounded by
thoroughfares would be purely local in
their function. man living in this area
and wanting to go to any other part of
the District would get on one of the
thoroughfares and follow it to a point
which is near his destination and then
get on local street Therefore the
blocks within the tl1oroughfare boun-
daries would be absolutely free from all
through traffic. All thoroughfares would
be through routes. After you got on a
thoroughfare you would not run into a
dead end
BY working out this plan the COM
mission gives us picture of the streets
whose development is of primary i'm
portance. because they are not just local
in their functions but are thoroughfares
Of the National Capital, linking up with
the great radial highways which lead
into the mighty avenues of tourist travel
to all parts Of the country.
Gives Quicker Access.
This map is of deep interest to most
OF the residents of the Capital because
it shows proposed cross-city routes
which will materially relieve congestion
and give reader access to certain sec
tons. For example. along the line of
Franklin street northeast a thorough
fare Is to be cut between Trinity College
and Glenwood Cemetery, cutting direct
~ east and west across the northern
portion of the closely populated city, to
connect with Bladensburg road on the
east and Sixteenth street, Connecticut
avenue and Massachusetts, avenue ra-
dials on the west
Considerable interest centers in the
proposed treatment of Columbia road
and Park road, both of which should be
thoroughfares or cross-town routes. I'm
fortunately, they are within the area
which grew up without a highway plan.
and therefore the width of these two
lIlOfOu20Iale
traffic. Each of these streets should be
40 feet wide between buildings. AS
matter of fact, they get down in some
places to so feet. That is direct evil
dence of the lack of planning.
Ii highway plan had been made be-
fore Columbia Heights was subdivided.
i would undoubtedly have provided ade-
ouate width for the DEVELOPMENT of
those two streets into main cross-town
routes. A detailed study was made,
with the result that the commission de-
clded in this new major thoroughfare
system TO utilize as a part of a main
cross-town thoroughfare the combina
ton of Columbia road and Harvard
street east of Sixteenth street. each as
one-way street-Columbia road west
pound and Harvard street eastbound-
IN preference 10 the widening of Column
bla road. A similar problem remains to
be worked out at Park road, But there
are few such problems in the street
layout of Washington.
This chart. it will be observed, calls
Tor two new bridges across the Anacos-
tia River-one on the line of Massachu-
sets avenue extended eastward, and the
other to be known as the South Capitol
Street Bridge, cutting diagonally across
the river to connect with Howard street,
north of Boiling Field, ST. Elizabeth's
Hospital and Barry Farm.
New Potomac Bridge.
1t also contemplateS a high-level
bridge over the Potomac River in the
vicinity of the Dalecarlia filtration
plant, west of Chain Bridge. This would
be a link in the .so-caled "Mar-Va"
Highway. The proposed toll bridge at
Great Falls. authorized during the last
session Of Congress. would provide a
further removed bypass. as it would
form link connecting the State high
way system of Maryland at Rockville
with the State highway system Of Viz
ginia at some point west of Falls
Church
There is also in contemplation three
hlgn-level crossings of Rock Greek
above the Calvert Street Bridge on the
approximate lines of Upshur. Kennedy
and Aspen streets. These, of course.
like other features Of the plan, as not
contemplated for immediate construc-
ton. but should be provided. the COM
mission feels, at such time in the flu
ture as demanded by the needs of
cross-toWn traffic and the dasirability
OF separating such croSs-town traffic
from the park traffic.
1t is to be noted that certain sec
tions of parkway existing or proposed!
are included in the thoroughfare plan
1t is not intended that these parkway
sections will be thrown open to all
kinds of traffic. They will, however
carry large load Of light passenger
uadic, and will therefore form impor-
tant parts of the traffic circulation
scheme. I'll parkway routes are not
included merely those which are OF
great importance from the standpoint
of general traffic flow
Besides the radial highways, such as