The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1936-04-03
ROAD DEPARTMENT
PLANNING HIGHER
CLASS ROADWAYS
PROGRAM To BE CARRIED
OUT WITH EFFORTS TO RE-
DUcE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
ALONG MANY HIGHWAYS

1ALLAHASSEE, April 3.-Ine
experimental stage of wider high
ways and 2OO-foot rights-of-way
is past, and the Florida state
road department, under direction
of Chairman C. B. Treadway,
now is stepping all construction
up to a higher class, it is pointed
out in a pamphlet issued by the
department.
The pamphlet was prepared by
T. B. Massie, department engineer
in charge of Identification.
Roadside Improvement" it
stated, "creates the wrong i'm
preston until the true purpose o.
the work is understood. The
greatest purpose is the reduction
of traffic accidents and to pro-
vide for future development in
pavement requirements"
Florida's public highways here
after will have shoulders wide
enough to allow parking of the
largest vehicles clear of the pave
ment, and to accommodate horse
drawn vehicles and pedestrians.
with the wide road shoulder cal
culated to reduce accidents so per
cent.
The road department, the PAM
phlet explains, is looking to the
future without waiting for the
! future to become the present. Of
ficials realize that as Florida be-
comes more densely populated
more pavement width must be-
provided. 1t is too late, these Of
ficials say. to get additional
rights-of-way when the time has
arrived for widening.
Engineering and surveying
/ have shown traffic will not stay
in its proper lanes on a 4O-foot
pavement. Head-on collisions
headlight glare. and other dan
gers are eliminated by the divid-
ed lanes-two 20-foot pavements
running parallel on the same
right-of-way, and each carrying
traffic in opposite directions in
the accepted modern method.
The department is endeavorine
to secure rights-of-way in al
cases 200 feet wide. Where roads
| already are paved, it is the pur-
pose to have the old pavement
off-center, but this is not always
possible.
The stated reason is that add.
tional lands are given to the state
without cost and must be taker
as they come. usually with ar
equal amount of land strip or
either side of the pavement. Fur.
ther construction will be plan
ned to avoid this. the pamphlet
said, so that when traffic volume
steps up to require a double lane
there will be room on one side OF
the old pavement to construct the
additional Lane without Their
throwing the double lane off,
center.
The pamphlet explained that
maintenance costs in highway:
are exactly as they are IN other
Tines of business-that is. they
are in direct proportion to the
class of construction.
''The same elements which
create safety and lower costs OF
upkeep." the pamphlet said
"create beauty and make more
attractive the highways upon
which hundreds of thousands OF
tourists must travel in seeing
! Florida.
''In the final analysis. the road
side Identification which one
hears so much about is actually
three-fold business proposition
based on good engineering. lower.
ed costs, and less money in the
future for maintenance. This
does not allow for the future
needs of denser population and
much heavier traffic. probably
the greatest incentive for the
wider and more modern road