Evening star., 1954-12-29
Road Program Urged
For Prince Georges
To Meet State Plan

lU WEEI yIMG FIdIl
Prince Georges 'County's pres
ent road program is "just getting
the people out of the mud" the
county commissioners were told
yesterday.
Public Works Director Arthur
L. Tayman said the recently
elected Democratic county COM
missioners should plan now to
make major expenditures in the
near future to keep pace with
the 1858 million road construc-
ton program of the Maryland
Roads Commission. These State
roads will criss-cross the county
with a network of new super
highways during the next 10
years.
The Democrats pledged, in
their platform last November,
to make it easier for county
residents to get to and from
work by eliminating traffic bot
tlenecks and improving roads.
Two Requests Rejected.
The status of the county road
program, which has been on a
pay-as-you-go basis aimed pri-
marily at grading and paving
secondary roads, also came up.
The commissioners rejected two
requests to include short sec
tions OF existing private roads
in the county road maintenance
The rejecfions followed a dis
cussion in which the commits
si0nerS indicated that a 40-foot
rfght-of-Way standard will be
applied in considering future
requests. The rejected petitions
were for roads only from eight
to II feet wide over rights-of-
way from Is to "a feet wide. Mr..
Tayman told the board the
county would have to buy addi-
tional rights-of-way for such
roads. if they were ever used by
more than occasional motorists.
The county has no overall
capital improvement program
and no plans for one. But Mr..
Tayman suggested that, after
demands for school construc-
ton money level of. the COM
missioners should launch a
more ambitious road program f.
nanced by the sale of bonds.
New Traffic Problems Seen.
The new arterial highways be-
ing built by the State Roads
Commission will change the
driving habits of many motorists,
he said. creating new traffic
problems along roads which "are
now Just holding their own.
The new commissioners also
indicated yesterday that the
county's present stringent trash
dumping law probably is strong
enough, but they mapped a pro-
gram to clean up what Commits,
sioners Herbert w. Reiehelt and
Frank j. Lastner called health
hazards at roadside dumps. Last
week. Mr.. Lastner called for a
study of the trash dumping
ordinance to determine if the
penalties for dumping were stiff
enough.
Cleanup Farley Planned.
Chairman Jesse S. Baggett
said q meeting with Mr.. Tayman.
county health authorities and
Police Chief Vincent S. Free will
be scheduled for early next week
to work out a plan to help the
owners Of vacant property clean
up the accumulated trash.
Property -owners are required
by law to remove trash that be-
comes a nuisance. but Mr.. Rel
chelt said the county should give
them hand. He suggested using
prison labor gangs to clean up
"the mess we've got" after a
breakdown on further trash
dumping gets underway.
Mr.. Tayman, looking into the
future again, recommended that
the commissioners get authority
from the General Assembly to
set up q countrywide refuse
service under q new bureau Of
sanitation. This service could
take over the collection and dis
posal Of trash in the non-incor-
porated areas Of the county. he
said.
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