Evening star., 1939-08-30
Questionnaires Seek
Data From Employees a
In Traffic Survey
Poll Of Federal and
Other Downtown Workers
To Guide Highway PIons

Inaugurating comprehensive In
vestigation of all phases of WASH
ington's transportation problem, the
District Highway Department and
the Department of Vehicles and
Traffic today began distribution of
missionaries to all Government
employees and to an additional 40
600 other persons who work in the
downtown sections of the city.
The questionnaires, which need
not be signed, are being distributed
to Government workers through de-
partment heads and to those in
private employment through officials
OF private concerns. The poll Is
part Of survey to make possible
long-range highway and traffic
planning for the city.
The QUESTIONABLE asks workers
to name the means of transportation
they utilize, the hours of departure
and arrival on both office-bound and
homebound trips, street car or bus
lines used. If the transportation is
by automobile or taxi, the District
wants to know the routes traversed,
the customary parking places by ap-
proximate block location and the
number Of children and schools in
cases where workers take pupils to
school on the way to the Office.
Transit Time to be Computed.
The Highway Department expects
the poll to ascertain the transpor-
tation habits of the thousands OF
workers. The answers will show the
time consumed between home and
office. Capt. H. c. Whitehurst, di-
rector of highways, hopes that at
least l65 900 questionnaires will be
filled out and returned.
When this information has been
received, the District will proceed
with other phases of the general
survey, which is being conducted in
cooperation with the Public Roads
Administration of the Federal Works
Agency under authorization of an
amendment to the Federal Highway
Act.
Later, the District and public
roads engineers and experts will seek
to establish balance between trans
portation demands generated by
concentrations of governmental and
business activities in downtown
Washington and the transport
facilities needed to serve them. The
expansion of Washington's resi-
dental areas and the directional
trend of this movement will be care
fully considered in their relation to
highway or street facilities.
Bypass Needs to Be Studied.
The parking problem also will be
analyzed closely on the basis of
QUESTIONABLE returns and field
studies. This fall a study will be
started to measure the burden Of
street capacities and traffic conges-
tion OF vehicles moving through the
city en- route to points beyond. This
is considered of special importance
because of the advantages to be
gained by provision of through
highways or by-passes around the
District.
A thorough investigation also will
be made of the necessity for high
level crossings of Rock Creek Park
and for improvement of the park
highways.
In filling out the QUESTIONABLE,
highway officials said. each worker
will be making a Contribution to the
efforts under way to make easier and
faster the trip from home to Office
and other travel throughout the city.
All receiving the questionnaires are
invited to make additional comments
and suggestions on the reverse side
of the sheet.
The studies are being directed bv
l.. M. Hedgcock. highway project
engineer for the District, and F. w.
LoveJoy of the Public Roads Admin
lStratlon. S. R. Harrison. Highway
Department engineer, has been as
signed to full-time work on the
survey, with William D. Heath of
the Municipal Garage and John II.
Milton OF the Traffic Department as
assistants.