Evening star., 1929-12-20
MAJOR TRAFFIC
AVENUES URGED
Park and Planning Commits
sion Sees Need of Classify
ing City Thoroughfares.


urgent need for the promotion of the
major thoroughfare idea, the National
Capital Park and Planning Commission
asserts in its annual report, made public
today following its transmittal tosPres-
ident Hoover.
IF streets of this type can be set apart
from all others in the popular mind and
in the minds of officials, notable step
will have been taken toward the crea-
ton Of more perfect Capital City" the
report AYERS. franchises for car or bus
routes cannot be discussed intelligently
without major thoroughfare plan.
Traffic regulations, such as those re-
stricting the movement of vehicles OF
certain classes to marked routes, must
ce related to the major thoroughtare
system Street lighting plans, traffic sig
aals, paving specifications, school and
playground sites, location of neighbor-
hood store centers, fire and police sta
tions, tree-planting policies, even deed
restrictions on private property, all are
dependent upon designation Of major
thoroughfares.
Benefits of Plan Cited.
"a subdivder must move somewhat in
the dark if he does not know where the
thoroughfares OF the district in which
he is operating are or will be. 1t will
be increasingly helpful to all Washing
ton to have an official major thorough
fare plan.
AN important step forward toward
execution of the major thoroughfare
plan was taken by Congress during the
last fiscal year in approval of a project
for strengthening Michigan avenue in
the vicinity of the Soldiers Home and
Trinity College in accordance with the
plan. The change in alignment of this
existing highway to carry out the plan
suggests the possibility of further action
in some of the other more pressing
cases where similar changes are needed.
Discusses CrOsstown Routes.
''The commission has prepared careful
studies to provide an adequate cross
town route in the vicinity of Columbia
road and Harvard street from Sixteenth
street to the Soldiers Home. These
studies indicate that the most econom-
ical solution of this problem is the
development of these two streets as
tandem one-way streets-Columbia road
for WeSt-bound traffic and Harvard
street for eaSt-bound traffic. To secure
the proper functioning Of such system
of traffic it is necessary to remove the
two offsets of Harvard street at Georgia
avenue and at Fourteenth street. The
commission indorses legislation to
authorize the Strengthening of Harvard
street at these points.
THE exchange of traffic between
sections of the city separated by the
Rock Greek Valley is impeded and made
unduly expensive by the present neces-
sity for such traffic going down as much
as 200 feet into the valley and climbing
an equal height on the opposite side.
Moreover, the passage of heavy stream
of traffic over steep grades and across
the park roads is constant danger and
a detriment to the park. At least one
of the projects for a high level bridge
upstream from the Calvert Street
Bridge should be adopted at an early
date.
Street Paving a Factor.
'"The paving of streets within the
District has in the past had little or no
relation to the development of a. major
thoroughfare system. The widths of
pavement placed on streets has. of
course, been adequate to present local
needs, but in many cases has not borne
any relation to the possible future func-
tioning ofstfe street in the major thor
oughfare system.
Gaps and peculiar variations in paw
ing widths exist on the most important
Streets the report continued. The
pavements widths on Thirteenth street
change IL times. In one section down
eight lines. Above Iowa Circle it drops
to three lines, although the greater por-
tion of its length shows capacity of
four lines. Two sections above Iowa
avenue are of two-line capacity.
Conditions on Cleveland avenue and
Calvert street, Benning road, Fourth
street, Columbia road, Massachusetts
avenue and Wisconsin avenue should
also be noted. These changes of width
amount in some cases to bottle necks
in the traffic channels and indicate
clearly the need of minor roadway
wideningS.
"In connection with the street tree
program, 1t is especially important that
the major thoroughfare plan should be
considered. The plan indicates the
streets which may be widened in the
future and along which it may be better
to plant two rows of trees or to origin
ally set a single row of street trees back
from the curb to allow for such widen
ing. without destruction of trees"