Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-11
Maryland and Virginia Asked
to Cooperate in Mapping
Future Needs.
SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND
FOR BUILDING is SOUGHT
Origin and Destination of Move
ments to Be Studied at FIRE.
quent Intervals.

The cooperation Of District, Virginia
and Maryland authorities in conducting
trafic survey in the metropolitan area
to collect facts upon which to base
future road construction Is being sought
by the Washington Regional Highway
Committee, functioning under the aus
piceS of the National Park and Plan
ming Commission.
This decision was reached yesterday
afternoon at a meeting of the COM
mittee at which Thomas H. Macdonald,
chief of the Bureau of Public Roads
of the Department of Agriculture and
chairman of the group, presented estl-
mates of the cost of such survey.
These estimates are being forwarded
to the authorities at Fairfax, Arlington
and Alexandria Counties in Virginia,
the Virginia and Maryland State High
way Commissions, the District govern
ment, Montgomery and Prince Georges
Counties in Maryland, the Maryland
National Capital Park and Planning
Commission and the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission. These
agencies are being requested by the COM
mittee to cooperate in the survey by
contributing funds for employees to aid
In the program.
To Cover 2O-MiIe Radius.
The proposed metropolitan traffic sur
vey would be conducted In an area
within a 20-mile radius of washington,
with q further extension toward Baltt-
more, Charles w. Eliot, I'd. director of
planning of the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission and secretary
of the Washington Regional Highway
Committee, said today. Mr.. Macdonald
presented the plan for the survey with
he. Ia Of ul foh Nuo Mff
from publication at this time.
1.-THE purpose of the survey primarily
is to ascertain not only the volume of
traffic, but the origin and destination
of traffic as q guide for National, State
and county authorities In the prepara-
ton Of their future road improvement
program" Mr.. Eliot said today.
1.-The survey will be similar to those
conducted by the Bureau Of Public
Roads for Cleveland and Chicago about
four years ago"
Mr.. Eliot explained that with the
data to be gathered in the survey, the
committee and the commission will be
able to check the proposed preliminary
highway needs against actual figures,
so that theory viii be related to proven
data.
Through this means the committee
hopes to divorce road construction from
political influence and base it on
purely scientific background, Mr.. Eliot
said.
VIII Act on Facts.
after the survey we will go on fact
and not on lunches" he concluded.
The estimates of cost for the survey
were prepared at the Bureau of Public
Roads by L. E. Peabody, one of its ex-
pertS who Is now directing traf1c sur
veys In IL Western States and in Michi-
gan. It Is considered likely that he
will direct the survey In the Washing
ton metropolitan area.
Mr.. Peabody said that it is proposed
to take q census at frequent periods
during the survey year, at various traf-
nc points, but the road expert made it
clear that there will be no hampering
of the movement of traffic. Consider
able information will be obtained in the
course of the survey, Mr.. Peabody said,
to enable city, county and State plan
ners to map out through highway routes
and bypaSses that will be invaluable In
future construction.