Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-11-14
TRANSIT
Continued From First Page

OOutAuuCu EAVhh Ehos $50
O detailed program for pro-
cedure." II this is not done, he
said the program would die
through inaction. It must not
be allowed to die, he said.
2. That the program vitality
needed in the metropolitan
area cannot be financed en-
tirely by private funds, even
though commission and coun-
Gil members would prefer that
private enterprise undertake
the job.
Mr.. Chalk earlier pleaded for
private financing, aided by
Federal mortgage or loan guar
antees.
Even the D. C. Transit
System, the principal advocate
of private financing made ref
erence on more than one &C.
casion in its proposals to the
phrase with certain public
aids" according to Mr.. Bar
tholomew.
1.-THE fact is that no subways
ever have been financed exclu-
sively by private funds" he
stressed.
Combined System Sought
The survey calls for a COM
bined system of freeways. sub
ways and express buslines.
I'm any balanced transport
tation system, it is apparent
that some lines will be more
profitable than Others" Mr..
Bartholomew went on. Transit
is a vital public service, COM
parable to water and sewers.
and its financing might be
considered on a comparable
basis.
I'VE see no objection to, and
We even would encourage. pro-
posals for operation of the bus
system by private enterprise
and possibly even operation Of
the mass transit lines by pri-
vate operators on a contract
basis" he said.
Defends Procedures
Mr.. Bartholomew called COM
mitteemen's attention to the
fact that finance and organiza-
ton proposals encompaSsed the
combined experience and judg-
ment of practical, operating
transit executives and one of
the leading institutions in the
country in this field.
Despite some objections. we
believe that the procedure rec
commended is the most feasible"
he said.
This proceude emissions some
Federal aid and regional con-
tributions, through bonding or
taxation, to amortize the cap
ital investment.
The White House, on the
opening day of testimony Mon
day, recommended Federal as
sistance to establish a Federal
corporation to start work on
the total program. This offer
was hailed throughout the area
as a major step forward and
a development that could as
sure the comprehensive plan
could become a reality.
Cautious on Population
AS for survey population es-
Inmates, Mr.. Bartholomew said
planners used a conservative
figure of 8 million for the Met
ropolitan Area by 1890. One of
the advantages of the present
plan is it's f1exibility, he said,
in that it's rapid transit and ex-
pressway plans would be capa-
BILE of handling a substantially
heavier traffic load should pop
ulation exceed 3 million.
He contradicted criticism
that the transportation system
was not based on land uses
fixed before routes were pro-
posed. This transportation
plan is based directly on Or
ganized land use patterns urged
by regional planners-a pattern
which is one neither of excess
sive scattering nor excessive
concentration, he maintained.
He praised representatives of
Pennsylvania and Baltimore &
Ohio Railroads for suggesting
use of railroad lines for COM
muter services.
1--WE would recommend that |
the Federal corporation, if
created, make an early inves-
tigation of the possible use of
this service" Mr.. Bartholomew
said.
Can't Commit d. C.
Gen. yelling said the Com
missioners do not concur in
all proposals of the sweeping
$2.5 billion survey report, and
cannot commit the District to
the total plan" He added:
Instead, the board regards
the plan as a presentation of
the outer limits of a regional
transportation system from
which there will evolve prac-
tical action programs Of lesser
magnitude"
Gen. yelling made plain that
the Commissioners would "wel-
come" a rapid transit subway
system. but that the District
does not have the financial re-
sources to pay either for this
or for all the freewayS proposed
in the survey report.
The Washington area should
consider some more modest al
ternatives to those proposed in
the survey plan, he said, "if the
Federal Government-or the re-
gion-does not intend to make
massive financial contributions
toward providing transporta-
ton facilities in the District"
Calls Aid Essential
Senator Bible, Democrat of
AYo..oln A.. :.i..A ....a;L4o.