Evening star., 1952-01-31
Relief for an AiIinq City

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The extensive and expensive eight-year
highway program proposed for Washington by
regional transportation study committee
would bring welcome relief for many of the
city's more serious traffic troubles. The program
Is not offered as cure-al, for no real cure has
yet been found for urban traffic congestion. The
best that can be expected in a city laid out
before the motor age is relief for major sore
points. Surgery to enlarge CONSTRUCTED arteries
and to provide new ones Is urgently needed to
restore healthy traffic circulation. The report
made public today by Engineer Commissioner
Robinson suggests key points for minor or major
surgery.
The heart of the city is given prime con-
sideration in the program The committee, after
study of traffic trends based on the Metropolitan
Area "origin and destination" survey, became
convinced that "the central core of the region
is most in need of highway improvements" This
central core Is the downtown district Of Wash
ington. It Is here, the committee pointed out.
that there is to be found progressively stronger
evidence of community blight" that poses
threat to the city's economic prosperity Too
many vehicles in too little space is the root
Of the problem. Today's report outlines broad
program for widening bottlenecks, for providing
new routes and for other steps to expedite the
flow of automobiles into and through Wash
hgton.
The projects are divided into two main
groups-those requiring immediate action to
meet present or imminent needs and those
which, though desirable now, have less imme-
diacy than the others. In the more urgent
group have been placed street-widening, extern
sion, grade separation and similar projects de-
signed to provide adequate approaches to the
new East Capitol Street Bridge and to the new
Washington Baltimore parkway These ap-
proaches must be ready by the time the bridge
and the parkway are completed within the next
few years. Otherwise there will be intolerable
log jam conditions at the Gtvsend OF these new
facilities Priority also is given to the long -advo-
Gated inner-belt route around the central busi-
ness section, a route designed to aid through
traffic in bypassng the 9congested core" OF the
city Street-w widening, channelization, grade
separation and other construction to make more
space for cars in the corassitseh and, on the
main approaches to it are Included. An out
standing new structure would be bridge across
the Potomac River from the foot of street to
the Virginia shore, about midway between the
Memorial and Key Bridges. The traffic survey
has shown that this is the logical location for
the next Potomac bridge, rather than at Alex
andria Nebraska avenue or Cabin John. new
Fourteenth street bridge, upstream from the
old Highway Bridge would be given future con-
sideration ahead of all other crossing proposals.
In the future category are placed also the Rock
Creek parkway extension to the District line,
Fort drive extensions and various traffic accom-
modating changes and additions to the highway
plan.
All of this will cost lot of money-$96
million for immediate relief and $43 million for
future relief. To help pay for the program the
Highway Department recommends one-cent
increase in the gasoline tax, to cents gallon.
Marylands tax now is S cents and Vrginia's
is cents Even with such an Increase there
would still remain deficit Of $50 million in the
immediate program alone over the etght-year
period. Either some means OF raising addltlonal
revenue for the highway fund must be found
or the program deemed essential by the survey
committee and District engineers will have to be
drastically curtailed. There Is another grave
problem which must be solved coinc1dent with
any trafic-expediting program. That IS the
parking problem The parking situation in the
downtown section will be aggravated by any
street. improvements which facilitate the flow
of automobiles into the already congested heart
of Washington More off-street parking space
must be provided if the program of the highway
planners is to accomplish its trafflc-relief
objective.
Obviously, the District Motor Vehicle Park
ing Agency the Traffic Department and others
interested in the parking problem will need
to study the highway proposals and correlate
parking relief measures with the highway i'm
provements Obviously, too, the National Capt.
tai Park and Planning Commission has role
to play in the whole program. Some OF the
recommendations OF the regional commttee
deyiate from the NCPPC master plan, which was
prepared before late traffic studies were avail
able. All parties concerned will have to get to-
gether on the program in an earnest effort to
iron out differences and arrive at common
understanding. Washington traffic ills are too
acute to permit Of any serious disagreements
among the doctors called in consultation.