Evening star., 1953-03-18

To the Editor Of The Stor:
BECAUSE the interjurisdictiona
- difficulties which led to creation
of the Port of New York Authority are
similar, in some respects. to those
besetting the Washington Metropolitan
Area, it might be of interest to COM
pare the situation here with that in
the New York-New Jersey area.
While the basic legal and political
problem is the same, namely, getting
away from the divergent Jurisdictions
by agreement between the sovereignties
on uniform plan of control, the physi-
cal and factual situations are quite diff
ferent as between the New York-New
Jersey port area and the National Cap
ital District area.
Dealing first with the points Of
similarity:
In both situations there is an area
which constitutes municipal entity
which is split apart by political bound
ary lines.
In both instances, there is CONNER
cial and geographical unity in the
sense that Manhattan, Jersey City, Ho-
boken, Brooklyn and Queens are all
virtually part of the port of New
York, just as the District of Columbia,
Arlington, Falls Church, Silver Spring,
Wheaton, Bethesda and Rockville are
all part Of the commercial area here.
Both areas are divided by waterways
which must be crossed by bridges or
tunnels, or both.
Both areas have serious mass trans
portation problems, with congestion Of
streets and highways.
Both areas have airports which re-
quire further development.
The point Of difference are even more
marked:
The New York-New Jersey Port Dis
trict is much more split up by harbor
waters. making bridges and tunnels alb
Solutely essential, even to a larger ex.
tent than here.
New York has one Of the finest har-
bors in the world, whereas the National
Capital District area does not have
harbor worthy Of the name.
The port problem at New York is not
complicated by Federal jurisdiction,
whereas here Congress controls the very
heart Of the area. All that was required
at New York was for the two equal SOW
ereigntieS to get together. Here it is
quite different because Congress would
have to cooperate with the States of
Maryland and Virginia.
At New York the surface tranSporta.
ton problem is very much more difficult
because Of the network of highways, al
ways growing in complexity, which
pour traffic in to the port district in
such volume that it is almost impossi-
BILE to provide the facilities necessary
to handle it.
In New York there are subways and
elevated highways which take an enor-
nous volume of traffic off the streets.
Here practically all our passenger and
streets, and often the bridges seem to
of reducing it. Some of our downtown
streets are now saturated with traffic to
the extent of IS per cent of capacity,
creating most serious situation. The
truth Is that we are forcing both in
dividuals and business to leave the
city-a process which Is expedited by
the private automobile.
Here we have a Government center
instead OF manufacturing center
The number Of through trucks using
our city streets, and having neither
origin nor destination here, probably
exceeds greatly the number of local
trucks. Our local truck and local bus
problem is tiny compared with the
local bus and truck problem in New
York.
Another great difference is that the
people in New York are not accus-
toned to drive their automobiles to
work or to use them extensively for
shopping purposes, whereas here there
is veritable flood Of private auto
mobiles carrying people to work in
downtown Washington every day, and
back home in the evening. To q large
extent this mass transportation is two
way traffic because, at the same time
that people are driving from Virginia
to start the days work, another great
horde is driving from Washington to
Virginia to work at the Pentagon and
elsewhere. To some extent the same
is true Of Bethesda, White Oak. Silver
Spring, etc.
would call attention to the great
urgency Of the problem here. While
New York has worked on it diligently
and efficiently for 80 years. we have
been content to grow like Topsy" and
our complacency and our negative atti-
tude have produced condition which
has grievously hurt our city and which
will hurt it still more unless more
constructive policy is quickly forth
coming. am pleased to note that
the Washington Board Of Trade Is
taking this matter seriously and Is lay
ing the foundation for q constructive
program.
I have reserved until last the most
serious difference between the New
York-New Jersey area and our area
here. I refer to the question Of reve-
nues. People in the New York-New
Jersey port area are accustomed to pay
ing bridge and tunnel tolls, whereas
the people in the National Capital area
are accustomed to free bridges. Since
any authority established to deal with
the local problem could not be success
full without adequate revenues, and
since the present bridges here are all
free,> 1t is not easy to see where the
revenue would come from. Even If q
new tunnel were built for vehicular
traffic under the Potomac, it is diff
cult to see how it could impose toll
charges so long as the bridges are free.
! have no doubt that to impose charges
IN the bridges would involve . Aost