Evening star., 1940-12-06
Highway Board Gets
Fiye-Point Plan for
Parking Reform
Macdonald Stresses
Value Of Increased
Facilities in Cities

Declaring that the parking OF
motor vehicles must not be regarded
Is "an isolated issue but an init
mate part of providing highway
transpor tation,' Commissioner
Thomas H. Macdonald of the Public
Roads Administration today pre-
sented flve-point program of
reform
Speaking before the closing ses-
don ofthe Highway Research Board
meeting at the National Academy
of Sciences, Mr.. Macdonald pro-
posed:
Municipal governments might
encourage private operators by elm
mating license fees on parking lots,
by lowering property assessments
on land use for parking, or by abate-
ment Of taxes on such property.
These concessions would result in
the reduction of parking costs on
the principle that the benefit Of
parking facilities would increase
surrounding land values and help to
tehabilitate the city.
City and State Could Aid.
settles might also assist private
enterprise by furnishing adequate
street approaches, by enforcing
street parking restrictions, by leas-
Ing public lands to private operators,
and by planning the most desirable
locations and designs for future
parking facilities With regard to
new buildings. the enactment of
building codes requiring the pro-
vision of off-street facilities is
another practice which should be
extended.
FINALLY, the city itself might
provide parking facilities and aug
ment this power by legislation to
permit the acquisition and financing
of necessary land.
state governments might assist
by the passage of legislation to per-
NIT the use of revenue bonds for
parking facilities and for servicin9
Of these with shares of State motor
vehicle revenues at present being
made available for municipal street
construction.
"The Federal Government might
furnish land for parking through
the demolition of condemned build
ings through w. P. A. and by spon-
soring adequate surveys to parking
needs through the planning organ
izations of the State highway de-
partments and Public Roads Admin
istration."
Immediate Steps Urged.
Commissioner Macdonald added
that he did not think the solution Of
the problem should await "the resto-
ration of peace" for "the efficient
functioning of our economy for de-
tense or normal needs requires the
elimination of urban bottlenecks."
"Tle thought which I desire to
leave with the Highway Research
Board is that the parking problem
has become ore of the most impor-
tant aspects of the urban highway
problem and that government can
no longer afford to leave its solution
to current haphazard developments,
he asserted.
"The city problem is not an emer-
gency problem. 1t is subject for
long-range and careful planning.
80 Immediate steps are therefore
necessary"
This country's chemical sef-suf-
flciency definitely makes for peace"
DR.. James K Hunt OF the E. I. du
Pont de Nemours & Co. declared
last night in addressing the annual
dinner of the board in the Wash
ington Hotel.
Wilfred Owen, research economist
with the National Resources Plan
ming Board, received the Highway
Research Board award for the out
standing" paper which he read at
last years meeting.
U. S. Seen Self Sufficient.
twenty-five years of unremitting
research have freed this country
from dependence upon foreign
sources of supply for materials vital
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