An Expert's View on Road improvements
Page 28
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Points From a Contribution by Sir Charles Bressey, C.B., D.Sc., to the B.R.F . Report "Roads and Road Transport's
RECENTLY, when giving a résumé of the .report " Roads and Road Transport," published• by the British Road Federation, we promised to deal later with the Appendix 3 on "
Roads" contributed by Sir Charles Bressey, CE., D.Sc. Sir Charles was formerly chief engineer of the Roads Department of the, then. Ministry of Tran sport.
In the introduction he points out that one of the most valuable assets of Our most densely populated hOtheland is the network of highways, constructed and 'improved in the course of 2,000 years the length of public. roads in Great Britain being about /80,000 miles, of .which trunk and Class I roads amount toabout 15 per cdnt., Class II to ICI per cent„ and unclassified 75 per cent., the last coinprising the bulk 'of reSidential", streets
and country lanes. •
. To interrupt the age-long process and improvement Wonlcl be to inflict a disastrous set-back on •industq and cdrainerce. To alloW roads' to. lapse into disrepair would be to dilapidate
our national heritage.:, .
What a vivid contraA of unswerving purpose is presented by the Alaska, Highway, 1,600 miles long, .connecting the U.S.A. across Canada with .Alaska. Commenced in March, 1942, it was opened in the following . October.. Several of, the Greater London arterial roads, planned 30 years .ago, are still unfinished. . Only recently the first section of the Cromwell Road extension, forming part of a new western exit from London, which was prOjected in the early days of this this century, was opened.
Many blunders and, oversights .could have been prevented by the combined efforts of the various public bodies responsible for highway design, town planning and 'traffic control. This lack of collatiorationT•must be remedied. Even how it might not be. too-late to close the ends of a considerable proportion of intersecting side streets, to ensure the uninterrupted flow of mainroad traffic.
In London the riverside area of the East End claims first attention, to give better access to docks. Spacious new traffic arteries are needed. The whole of the riverside area from the Tower to Putney Bridge should also be reconsidered,. Envisaging the future London, we should not, lose sight of the need for grouping railway termini, markets, and coach stations in due relation to circular roads. Many irregularly shaped, squares and circuses to principal traffic intersectionsare too cramped to allow weaving space for converging streams of .traffic.
The problem of widening some shopping streets might be solved by creating a continuous arcaded footway, set back within the buildings. [This scheme was suggested by the Editor of this journal many years ago, the article being accompanied by suitable illustrations.--Eo.1 The City of Birmingham provides an illustration of the comprehensive plans of energetic civic authorities, but they were ahnost indefinitely suspended for want of funds and opportunity.
Road improvements of great magnitude'have been included in the townplanning schemes prepared by Glasgow Corporation. A good standard was set a few years ago and the dimensions were fixed for the Glasgow-Edinburgh Road and Great Western Road boulevard. The widths contemplated vary . from 60 ft. for the single carriage-way to 120 ft. for the dual: The building line would be 80 ft. from the centre for shops or 100 ft. for houses. Thus with
an arterial road of the highest class, the distance between the opposing frontages of houses would be 200
• Our national supplies of road materials are ready to hand, and inexhaustible. The larger cities will want one or more ring roads, and their radial highways must be converted into dual roads from 100 to 150 ft. wide. There is no alternative to the widening of the country lane. Inft every means should be adopted to minimize this disfigurement, hedges could often be left standing and footways formed behind them. If a bridge has to be widened, the old stone facings could often to used. To widen a picturesque bridge over a village brook, sometimes nothing more is necessary than to build-a simple wooden footway, supported on oak
piles, at one side. .
By-passes have conferred a —triple boon, peace for the town-dsveller, safer passage for the traveller and a perpetuation of village charms. Some important roads bid fair to be almost duplicated by a continuous series of
by-passes. Projects of this kind are to be warmly encouraged, regard being paid to the lessons of the past. A by-pass must not be merely another village street, but cater tssentially for through traffic. Any excuse for obstruction by stationary vehicles must be removed. Comfortable footways are essential for public safety. A 3-ft. smooth path is preferable to a 20-ft. promenade of loose gravel which would tempt pedestrians to walk on the road.
The ',advantages of motorways are securing wider recognition throughout the world. The rapid means for transport afforded by them would be of great value to the community, by enabling perishable produce to be delivered in good condition to towns: Excessive lengths of perfectly straight motorways should be avoided, owing to the deadening effect of monotony on the attention of drivers.
• Further points in this interesting appendix will be dealt with as opportunity permits.