An Exhibition Devoted to Public Service.
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the 1,300 delegates to the conferences being held in London in connection with the biennial Public Works, Roads and Transport Congress and Exhibition now taking place at the Agricultural Hall, many will be regular readers of this journal, for certain sections will be interested in transport and in the use of motor appliances in connection with the departments of their work in the municipalities and in the areas of the various local authorities. It is a striking fact that forty-one millions sterling is spent annually on the highways and bridges of Great Britain and over thirty-two millions sterling on matters relating to • public health, including street cleansing, refuse destruction, ambulance services, 'etc.
The spending of £73,000,000 per annum of public money calls for extreme efficiency and absolute economy, and therefore it is highly important that the councils and committees and the officials employed in the various departments should be provided with every facility for learning the latest methods, examining the newest plant, machinery and materials employed, and also of meeting together in order to compare notes and to exchange ideas and opinions on the matters that come within their purview. Nothing but good can result from this co-ordinating effort, particularly when it is directed by men with the qualifications possessed by Sir Henry Maybury, the Director-General of Roads: Mr. J. R. Heath, the President of the Institute of Cleansing Superintendents ; and Mr. Frank Massie, President of the Institution of Municipal and County Engineers.
It is gratifying and encouraging to observe the intensely practical nature of the Exhibition and also of the matters to be discussed at the conferences. There is nothing visionary or farfetched, lout every exhibit and every subject are of immediate interest. Some of the international congresses, unfortunately, have lacked this merit.
The Congress and Exhibition certainly assist, In a practical manner, the officials of local authOri7 ties by helping them to keep abreast of the tilhes and encouraging them to adopt the best mechanical appliances in the execution of their work with a view to keeping costs to the lowest possible level. They also assist the members of the local authorities to become personally acquainted with all the aspects of the services under their control. Their third function is to secure from the general public a wider appreciation of all that is done by local government for their comfort and well-being.
No Order on Speed, Axle Weights, etc.
T T is understood that the Commercial Motor Users Association's deputation, which was received by Sir Henry Maybury at the Ministry of Transport on Wednesday last, did not succeed in obtaining any promise concerning the issue of an Order dealing with axle weights, speeds and the use of six-wheelers.
It appears to have been irrevocably decided by the Home Affairs Committee of the Cabinet that nothing shall be done until the present controversy about the Road Fund is disposed of and, thereafter, a decision is reached concerning the prospects of securing Parliamentary time for the new Motor Car Bill, which, by the way, is already in draft. Only if the intended new Act is further postponed is it at all possible that the matters under reference will be dealt with by an Order in Council. The deputation of the C.M.U.A. was well attended by the chairmen of most of the divisions and was introduced by the president of the Association.
This result is extremely disappointing, because, whilst it is reasonable, and, in fact, desirable, that the revision of motorcar law should be dealt with as a complete whole and not by piecemeal the most urgent part of the revision concerns the heavy vehicle, which at present is labouring under a far more severe handicap in the matter of axle weights, speed limits, etc., than any other section of the motor movement. The private car owner and driver chiefly require their present practice and habit of generally exceeding 20 miles per hour to be legalized; the user of the heavy lorry is unable to carry loads above the stated legal limits without definitely incurring liabilities to punishment that is practically certain to be exacted, whilst he is virtually debarred from taking advantage of the mechanical development expressed in the design of the rigid-frame six-wheeler. It would thus seem to be good tactics to press for a decision concerning the presentation to Parliament of the new Motor Car Bill.
The Justification of Bus Upper-deck Cover.
Pr HE coming of the covered top-deck bus, par ticularly in the provinces and to the extent of four in London, has apparently not been accepted by everybody as a development in the right direction. We are asked, in a letter which does not call for publication, to consider the man who craves for fresh air and sunlight, and to believe that bus passengers of the present day are no less hardy than those of a generation back. There was no cry for top-deck cover in those days; • in fact, with knife-board seats and the scantiest of "decency boards" (how meaningless that phrase has become !), present-day protection on an unsheltered upper deck is almost equivalent to pandering.
It sounds very humiliating to the bus passenger of to-day, hut we are unrepentant, and, whilst freely admitting that the weather is no more inclement than it was 20 or 30 years ago, would point out that with the increased preponderance in numbers of women, the proportion of male passengers on any average bus journey is far smaller than it was. Women to an infinitely greater extent go to business ; practically they all travel at the hours of peak loads, and they all seek seats in the saloons. Male passengers are, in consequence, being more and more driven on to the upper deck through lack of seating accommodation on the lower deck.
B18 In the past there was a much bigger margin of unoccupied seats on buses than is the case to-day, with labour conditions compelling the utmost economy. Passengers, therefore, feel impelled to board the first bus that passes, and are not inclined to allow one bus to go because a comfortable seat does not offer and to wait for the next. Therefore, as men find themselves relegated to unprotected seats, they (man-like, we hear it said!) at once call for improvement.
To our mind, the advantage of top-deck cover in winter must be admitted by everybody. The effect in the summer is again to level up the claims of the two compartments, and their respective merits will be still nearer to equality when the ventilation of the lower saloon is perfected. Deprived of the overhead sun, the upper deck will not make so powerful an appeal to those who like the sun to beat clown upon them. But there are many people who do not like the fierceness of the sun's unmitigated rays ; they are always to be found walking in the shade of trees or buildings. By their willingness to take seats on either upper or lower deck, if the former has a cover, they will assist in effecting a better balance of the seating. From whatever position one examines the covered top-deck bus, it is difficult to find an objection, whilst it is certainly a logical outcome of post-war developments in public passenger services.
Preserving Our Second-grade Roads.
AS a result of the increasing congestion of mainroad traffic there is a decided tendency on the part of users, both of private cars and of commercial vehicles, to leave those routes which have to bear much heavy traffic and to seek alternative ways of reaching their destinations.
For this reason, loads for which they were never designed are now being thrown upon our secondary and unclassified roads throughout the kingdom. Coaches, and even buses, are also opening out routes over what were formerly little more than country lanes, and so rapid is the wear both on the surfaces and in the foundations of these minor roads that the authorities concerned are almost at their wits' ends to know how best to tackle the problem of reconstruction and maintenance.
It is not merely a question of widening them to meet the needs of larger vehicles running in increased numbers. Of even greater importance is the provision of more lasting materials which will not quickly develop pot-holes and cause an excessive amount of dust. Water-bound macadam, whilst proving totally unsuited to heavy traffic, is comparatively easy to lay and finish, and if it were proved to be possible to bind such a road so that it is rendered homogeneous, capable of taking severe stresses and, at the same time, affording a durable wearing surface, and this at but a small cost above that of the ordinary macadam, the problem would appear almost to be solved. Experiments are now being conducted in many parts with a quick-drying cement which, mixed with sand, etc., is brushed over the surface of an ordinary macadam road so that it penetrates into the interstices and combines the whole crust into what practically constitutes a layer of concrete. Such a road surface can be laid down and rolled, as the cement used does not set for some three hours, and we believe that the cost of preparing a road in this manner should not exceed is. per sq. yd. above that of the ordinary macadam variety.
It remains to be seen whether such a road can stand heavy traffic for long periods, but the method appears to be so simple and inexpensive that it may prove worthy of an extended trial.
One of the important characteristics of a road finished in this manner is that It provides an excellent non-skid surface.