Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-07-12

gion will increase from today
2 million to 3 million in abou
! 1880. This increase in tn
number of persons to be served
is the most important singh
factor in creating the need TO
new transportation facilities
If the population reaches
} million before 1880, as is quit
possible, then still more trans
portation capacity may b
needed in 1880.
2. The trend toward a dis
| persed population pattern will
continue. More than 80 pei
cent of the added population
will be outside the original TO-
mile square (the District Of
Columbia, Arlington County
and part of Alexandria,
Growth will extend much in
some directions than others
however, as it is guided by the
terrain, the availability of water
and sewer services, and coming
policies. An especially large
concentration of suburban
population will lie to the north
and northwest of Washington
in Montgomery County.
The residents of the dis
persed suburban areas will
make longer trips, and more
trips per person, than today'S
with the increase in popula-
ton. will cause the total daily
number of person. miles OF
travel to triple by 1880.
8. Employment will increase
moderately in downtown WASH
ington (the 6-square mile area
roughly bounded by the Inner
Loop freeway). Downtown will
remain the largest employment
center in the region, and work
trips into this area will con-
stitute one of the most i'm
portant traffic flows to be &C.
commodated. Peak-hour travel
terminating in the downtown
area will be about 20 per cent
heavier in 1880 than it is now.
4. The majority of the new
jobs, however, will be located
outside of the downtown area:
in fact most will be outside the
District of Columbia. The large
increase in trips to dispersed
places Of work will lead to a
tremendous growth in peak
hour trips through, around, or
just short of the downtown
area.
The manitude of this diffused
home-to-work movement is
shown by the fact that daily
travel across the boundary of
the l0-mile-Square will in
crease by more than 200 per
cent by 1880, while the 24-hour
travel volume into the down.
town area will only increase by
a little more than rs per cent.
This type of dispersed traffic
flow will place new demands on
the transportation system, of a
much different sort from the
radial flow in and out of the
downtown area that is so prom
inent today.
S. Automobile ownership will
continue to increase, and the
people of the National Capital
Region will rely more and more
on the private automobile for
most kinds of travel. This will
be especially true of shopping,
recreational and social trips,
and trips to points outside the
downtown area. More than 30
per cent of the total regional
travel will be in automobiles
even with the proposed transit
system in operation. Truck
traffic will also continue to in
crease.
6. Approximately half of the
peak-hour travellers to the
downtown area will be in q po-
sition to choose between using
public transit and travelling by
private automobile, and will
base their choice upon the rela-
tive speed, cost, convenience
and comfort of these two modes
Of travel. An estimated one
fourth of them will have to ira
vel by auto in any case, either
because they need their auto
mobile at work, or for some
other reason. The remaining
one-fourth are sure to use
transit, many of them because
they will not have automobiles
available.
I. The peak volumes of travel
in 1880, as today, will occur
during the two morning and
two evening rush hours on
workdays, and will be mainly
composed of trips between home
and work. These are the criti-
cal volumes that the trans
portation system must be de-
signed to accommodate. Nearly
one-half of the 24-hour travel
will occur in these four peak
hours. Movement at other
hours can be carried by the
facilities needed to serve the
peak home-to-work flows. The
heaviest peak-hour movement
of people will be encountered on
the radial routes leading into
the District of Columbia.
8. Many important segments
of the existing highway system
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