Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-02-10

island in TIE crrter. the pedestrian
need cross but one side ar the hiwh-
way before again reaching safety.
fraIIie lights may be spaced at neg
rssary intervals beth Tor pedestrian
safety and Tor crossing traffic.
They need to handle traffic moving
only in . direction and in many
instances can b. SD srnchFonizad
that the bulk OF motor traffic ear
Be continuously moving.
There are, in ali. some a.O0n.Da9
mics Of roads In this rauntry-rood.
bad and Indifferent. II all were
disable the year round there would
nc little o. no r1use f3r COMPLAINT.
But some IN per cent cf them are
unllproved IN any w1y. Another 10
per cent have been graded ana
Grained Seventeen per cent havs
some sort OF impernancnt s~urfacinr.
About : per cen are ycar-round. ALL
weather roads. made from base to
cTown according to dictates Of the
most thorough scientific highway
engineering.
These ? per cert are the roads
that carry the nations traffic. The
bureau Of public roads survey
showed that - per cent or the
eountry's entire highway traffic Il
carried over 6 per cent Of its total
highway mileage
For many yea mileage his been
the major goal IN road building. r.,
at the years end, the state reported
the construction Of several hundred
niles Of new roads, It's citizens felt
they had lived W 70 tkeiF progress
sive reputation. But IN certain sr-
stances those roads were too narrow.
In others, no provision was made
for widening as traffic volume grew.
Again politics has dictated where
they should be built. The lesser
need was met first and the greater
s~ide-tracked for votes. for political
friends, or for other selfish ends.
Adequately to meet the situation
IL As necessary to think in four
terms. Width. capacity and proper
location come first. Roads must be
built to Withstand the punishment
inflicted BY the heavy traffic or mo-
tor buses and trucks. TO these
physical properties Of length. WIDTH
and thickness another dimension.
time. must be added. And time Ill
something which can he determined
only by the factors OF traffic VOL
uMe. d~irectness of route and the
iinpcdiments which my IL
tered along that route.
Motor car owners paid $3.50, 0cn.-
GOO in motor vehicle taxes in 1897.
according to the Natiinal Automobile
Chamber Of Commerce. They nrub-
ably paid more IA 1925 because III
the greater numAar of cars in en-
Grafton and tke more nearly uai-
versal gasoline tax, despite the lift
ing Of the federal excise tax On new
ears, which the automobile indus
try finally was successful. after
years OF effort. In having wired OUT.
on the other hand. something moro
than &l-l0o.O1o ,0c0 was spent in 1927
for highway construction and main
teHancc.
Prom those comparative figures n
can he EASILY seen that the ~auscu,e-
h.le owner In paying acre than his
share toward building and main
tanning roads and streets. part;cu-
larry when il IN remembered thas
adjacent land values. III almost cY-
cry insta-re, are benefited more 81
these coed roads than their total
cost nc construction aud operation.
Efficiency dlctatcs the building W.
crly high type roads. They save
actual dollars and cents in opcrat-
inr costs. repairs. requirements and
time. According to sRrrryS Ny Iowa
State collrrr. concrete roads are The