Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-12-31
Master Traffic
Plan Arouses
Varied Reaction
Whitehurst Calls
Report Too General
To Be Practical
BY RUDOLPH KAUFMAN IT

ming OFFICIALS To-Day revealed a fun-
damental division of views on the
value of the Institute of Traffic En-
gineer's report calling for a master
highway, transit and parking plan
for the entire Washington Metro
politan Area.
Capt. H. c. Whitehurst, District
director of highways, commented
that the report lis too general and
lacking in detail to be practical"
On the other hand, Capt. White
hurst said, he had asked the insti-
tute to make the report in the first
place and that while his views were
at variance with the report in many
respects. it certainly would not be
strapped.
He said it would be turned over
to the Commissioners special COM
mittee headed by Col. Joseph D. Ar
thur, jr., Assistant Engineer Com
missioner, for consideration with
other similar reports. A final report
is due in January on the practical
solution of the Districts traffic and
transportation problems.
Has Mass of Material.
This committee has been holding
hearings since last summer and
planning, civic and governmental
agencies have testified The COM
nittee now has mass of material
with which to work in making its
own report, Capt. Whitehurst said.
The committee is composed of Col
Arthur, Capt. Whitehurst, William
A. Van Duzer, director of traffic;
Edward A. Dent, District tax as
SCISSOR, and Walter L. Fowler, Dis
trict budget officer.
Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant III, chair
man of the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission said he
had not yet received a copy of thu
traffic institutes report and would
prefer not to comment on it now.
John Nolen, jr., the commission S
director of planning. and Max S.
Wehrly, the commissions city plan
ner, who are most closely connected
with highway, transit and parking
problems, also said they had not
received copies of the report but
that judging from newspaper &C
counts it is in accord with the plan
ming commissions views and con-
ta1ns a great many proposals in
itiated and favored by the COM
mission.
Another Plan Available.
The commission has prepared a
similar plan. but has made public
only its general provisions. This
plan also is understood to be avail
able to Col. Arthur's committee, as
well as report made by the con-
sulting engineers, Greiner & De
LeuW, which recommends a $685.
100000 subway system for Washing
ton.
Capt. WhitehurSt's chief criti-
ciSm of the Traffic Institutes report
is that it does not attempt to solve
the problems of land acquisition, tax
values, the property owners access
to streets and how the cost of
high-speed highways with limited
access within city is to be de-
frayed.
I'VE can't have that sort of thing
just because we would like to-" he
said. Highways like that cost ST.
100000 mile and so far we've only
seen our way clear to proposing such
a development only for K street,
he added.
His comment on the reports rec.
concentration that a new master
plan for the entire urban area o.
Washington be prepared was tina
this is the responsibility of the Parl
and Planning Commission.
Will Try to Fit Plans Together.
Il think the Park and Planning
Commission is doing a very gooc
job of creating master plan. anc
the District intends to try at al
times to fit its own plans into the
commissions plans for the entire
area" he said.
Mr.. Nolen, commenting on the
Institutes rejection of a $4,000 ,OO(
subway for Washington, said the
commission also has been opposed
to the scheme. The commission is
known to favor local underpaSses
plus an underground street car line
along E street to provide east-west
distribution of transit passengers
He said of the traffic Institutes
proposal for master high-speeo
loop highway along K street, Third
street, independence avenue ano
Seventeenth street, that the COM
mission favored extending any such
loop as far west as Twenty-thiro
street NV. to serve Federal build
ings such as the proposed Navy De-
partment structure.
Mr.. Wehrly said a certain amount
of subdivision by high-speed street.
of the area bounded by the loor
might be advisable, using Constitu.
ton avenue and E street for east.
west routes and perhaps Seventh
Twelfth and Seventeenth streets
for north-south routes.
Planners' Views on Transit.
Both doubted whether high speed
radial arteries leading from The
loop to major residential areas coule
carry both rail transit facilities ane
high-speed roadways since right.
of way are not wide enough. Tht
Institutes report is not clear or
whether rail or bus transit would
best serve residential areas.
The planning commission def.
nitely favors bus service to anc
from residential areas, and limit.
ing street cars to local service.
The planners said they favored
creation of motor vehicle parking
agencies in the nearby counties anc
Alexandria, as recommended by the
Institutes report.
Capt. Whitehurst made the OBJ
servation that actually there is not
much difference between the under
ground transit proposals made re-
Gently by hired consultants. the
planners, the institute, and his office
as it might appear.
None of the reports faver a SUBJ
way in the true sense. The pro-
posals vary only with respect to dis
lance underground and location, he
added.
Capt. Whitehurst said there have
been series of reports and surveys
made on traffic and transportation