The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-07-25
Recommendations Made By N. Y. Firm
To Improve Florida Highway System
Suggest State Use
Tax Money Rather
Than County
"Reminiscences

TALLAHASSEE R- A New
York engineering firm says Flor
ida's main highway system is suf-
fering while millions are being
spent on a "sprawling, unconnect-
ed, disintegrated system" of coun-
ty roads.
It recommended in a report to
the State Road Department that
the seventh cent of the tax on
each gallon of gasoline - about
10 million dollars a year which
now is spent where county COM
missioners say - should be given
to the state agency for unrestricted
general use.
The recommendation was in the
fourth installment of an engineer
ing study report made for the
State Road Department by Par
sons, Brinckerhoff. Hall and Nc
Donald.
The engineers also recommend
ed:
/. Establishment of plan for
developing a state arterial highway
system of most travelled primary
roads joining important population
centers. It outlined 2,754 miles of
state primary roads that can be
expected to have a daily traffic
volume of 5000 or more vehicles
a day in 20 years. Most of them
are on the present primary road
map.
2. Adoption Of a sufficiency rat
ing method of programming road
improvements on a priority basis.
3. High priority attention to CHM
nation of urban bottlenecks in the
main road system.
4. Transfer of about 200 miles
of less travelled highways from
the present primary system to the
secondary system.
S. Transfer, by plan over 20
years. of about 1.400 miles Of pres
ent well travelled county roads to
the primary system.
6. A movement to have schools
built a few blocks from arterial
highways as a means of cutting
down the number of slow speed
zones.
Z. Establishment of "safe speed"
limits by Road Department engin-
GERS for various sections of high
way with complete enforcement by
the State Highway Patrol.
8. Elimination of highway and
railway crossings at the busiest
intersections.
The engineers said the Road De-
partment's 194s agreement with
county commissioners to spend the
states so per cent share of the
seventh cent gas tax where the
counties say is resulting in ga
SPRAYING, unconnected, disin-
tegrated system of improved coun-
ty roads which serve isolated
needs"
"Atout IL of the 81 counties have
established some kind of short
range but fairly specific program
for the development of secondary
roads within their borders" the
report said.
"As far as can be determined
no two or more adjoining counties
have evolved a program which at.
tempts to give some semblance of
secondary road inter relationship.
"a major portion of the Road
Departments so per cent share Of
the seventh cent gas tax and a
good portion of the departments
80 per cent share of the second
gas tax tthe surplus after debt
payments from the fifth and sixth
centsl is now being budgeted for
secondary roads," the report said.
aside from the fact that these
expenditures are being made de-
spite the lack of sufficient funds
to properly improve the primary
system, II must be remembered
that the revenues from these
sources must be allocated TO the
counties ON a formula which al.
most automatically precludes any