serious sources of danger. If there is not enough illumination one is
always liable to get off the roadway. If there is a large amount of
illumination improperly controlled the glare is quite as dangerous
to approaching vehicles. State regulations usually require two white
lights ahead and one red light behind. The two-light regulation is
wise. When one approaches a single lighted machine he can not tell
which of the two lights is out, or whether or not it is a motorcycle.
Many accidents have been caused on account of this fact by not giving
sufficient clearance to pass the approaching vehicle. When meeting a
one lighted machine the driver should always slow down and give as much
clearance as the road will allow. Safety first. The red light behind of
course saves many a rear end collision. As to whether it should be red
or white is questionable.
Glaring lights became such a menace to safety that most of the states
have enacted laws requiring all lenses used to comply with certain
requirements, and providing that they be approved after tests by some
competent authority. By doing away with plain lenses and properly
corrugating the glass, lenses have now been produced which go far
toward removing the glare. With proper lenses and reflectors the lights
may be so regulated that the beam of light will illuminate the roadway
almost completely across its width and from 200 to 300 feet ahead of
the vehicle and at no place go higher than 56 inches above the ground.
But even with the best lenses and best adjustments it is impossible to
see beyond an extremely bright light so in passing such a light there
is always the chance of running into an unlighted parked car, or other
obstruction, or a ditch at the side of the road. In passing such a
light the eyes should be kept on the road and shielded, if possible,
from the glare of the other machine. The precaution of driving slowly
under such circumstances goes without saying.
=Unlighted Vehicles.=--Unlighted, horse-drawn vehicles, bicycles, and
animals driven or walking in the street frequently give the automobile
driver palpitation of the heart. Even if the law does not require it
horse-drawn vehicles ought to bear lights or reflectors which would
give a warning to the coming automobilist. Bright reflecting surfaces
will flash back the rays of light from the automobile lamps and are
much better than no lights at all. A California freighter who had many
pack mules going along the automobile highway to and from the mountains
continually kept such reflectors on both the head straps and cruppers
of his animals with the result that very many less were struck by
automobiles than before the reflectors were used. It is only by the
reflections from lenses and bright parts of automobiles parked without
lights, contrary to law, along the streets that saves them from being
run into and smashed, to say nothing of personal injuries and the
probable loss of lives.
=Speedometer.=--Every automobile should be equipped with a good
speedometer. Speed limits are known to most drivers and if constantly
stared in the face by good clear speedometer numbers they are not so
likely to exceed them as if they depended entirely upon a sense of
velocity, which is merely relative at the best. A motorist is driving
along a country highway at a speed of 25 miles an hour, say, when
he comes to a village with a sign out, “Speed Limit, 15 miles.” He
slacks to that speed by speedometer but feels he is only traveling
5 or 10 miles an hour. Railroad companies found it advantageous to
equip their locomotives with self-registering speedometers in order to
reduce the number of accidents due to speeding. The automobilist with a
speedometer before him has no excuse, at least, for speeding.
=Bad Roads Cause Accidents.=--It is not always the fault of the driver
or the vehicle that there is an accident. The roads may be at fault,
and while careful driving may decrease the number it can not eliminate
all.
Slipperiness is hard to combat. This will vary of course with the
types of road, with grades, and with height of crowns. But even a
pavement, which in dry weather is perfectly safe, will, when it becomes
moist, especially if there is a small amount of dust or clay on it,
be extremely slippery. Earth roads when they are wet on top and hard
below are very treacherous. All types become slippery in the winter
when there is ice and snow. A thorough flushing of pavements, which
will remove surplus dust and clay, preferably done at night, is a
good remedy for slipperiness. The use of sand or cinders on turns is
sometimes resorted to where absolute cleanliness can not be obtained
by flushing. Extra precautions by the drivers over the slippery roads
and streets is always a good thing. The investigations of the Maryland
Highway Commission indicate that about 20 per cent of all the accidents
can be attributed to wet and slippery roads.
In the construction of roads high crowns should be avoided. On earth
roads the crowns should never exceed one inch per foot and if the road
is one that is much used and carefully maintained so that it is hard,
should be about one-half inch per foot. A crown of one inch to the
foot is equivalent to an 8¹⁄₃ per cent grade down which vehicles will
easily run and off which they will slide in slippery weather. Vehicles
seek the center of the road when the crown is high both for comfort
and safety but two passing vehicles can not be there at the same time.
On hard pavements a quarter of an inch per foot will furnish ample
drainage, and that is all the crown is for anyway.
=Embankments and Guard Rails.=--Too many roadways are built on narrow
embankments and often there are no guard rails. The embankment should
always be wide enough to accommodate the traffic with an ample factor
of safety. It is not uncommon for vehicles to slide off embankments
with fatal results. The writer has before him a recent newspaper
clipping of one such case where a bus slipped off the roadway and
toppled into the ditch killing one man and injuring several others; the
busman had no indemnity insurance. Chains on the wheels of the bus or
heavy guard rails might have prevented the accident.
=The danger from sharp turns= in roads is so well recognized that
state systems are now specifying a minimum radius of 200 feet and when
practicable laying curves out very much flatter. The pavement is also
being widened at the turns so as to allow the same turning radius
on the inner as on the outer track in order that the temptation for
vehicles to cross over to the other track may be lessened.
[Illustration: Pavements should be widened on a curve so that the inner
row of vehicles may pass around on the same curvature as the outer row.]
=Superelevation.=--The superelevation of the outer side of a curved
roadway can not at one and the same time be made suitable for all rates
of speed. Works on mechanics give the formula for the elevations of the
outer edge as
_av_²
_e_ = -----
_gR_
where _e_ = the elevation in feet;
_a_ = the width of road in feet;
_g_ = acceleration of gravity in ft. per sec. per sec.;
_v_ = velocity in ft. per sec.;
_R_ = radius in feet.
Or if the velocity, _V_, is given in miles per hour and the elevation,
_E_, in inches this reduces to
121_aV_² 0.807_aV_²
_E_ = -------- = ----------
150_R_ _R_
[Illustration:
© _Underwood and Underwood_
A DANGEROUS CURVE AT LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN
A DANGEROUS CURVE MADE SAFE BY AN ARTISTIC CONCRETE WALL The Tennessee
State Highway at Lookout Mountain, Built of Cemented Concrete.]
The country pavements are usually superelevated for 12 miles per hour.
Even this with the minimum radius gives a surface so tipped that it is
difficult for horse-drawn wagons to remain on it unless the horses trot
around the curve. Substituting for a velocity of 12 miles per hour, a
width of 20 feet, and a radius of 200 feet there results
_E_ = 11.6 inches.
The following table gives the necessary elevation in inches that there
shall be no side thrust at various speeds, for a road one foot wide. To
get the elevation for any width multiply by the width.
TABLE OF SUPERELEVATION IN INCHES PER FOOT OF WIDTH
------+---------------------------------------
| Speed in Miles per Hour
Radius+----+------+------+------+------+------
Feet | 10 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 30 | 40
------+----+------+------+------+------+------
|Inch|Inches|Inches|Inches|Inches|Inches
100 |0.81| 1.16 | 1.82 | 3.23 | 7.26 |12.91
200 | .40| .58 | .91 | 1.61 | 3.63 | 6.46
300 | .27| .38 | .61 | 1.08 | 2.45 | 4.30
400 | .20| .29 | .45 | .81 | 1.81 | 3.23
500 | .16| .23 | .36 | .64 | 1.45 | 2.58
------+----+------+------+------+------+------
Unless the road is intended for a speedway, 12 miles per hour would be
about the right speed to use. In rounding a curve of radius 200 feet at
a speed of 30 miles per hour, superelevated as shown in the table for
12 miles per hour the coefficient of friction would have to be about
one-fourth to prevent skidding. In dry weather this would practically
always be exceeded. A committee of the National Highway Traffic
Association, 1922, recommends “that on all curves of more than three
degrees the pavement and inner-half of the earth shoulder should be
banked. This superelevation should vary from 0 for a 3-degree curve to
1 inch per foot of width for curves of 20 degrees or sharper.”
=Clear Vision.=--Clear vision is another thing that should be insisted
upon as a means for safety. Weeds, brush and trees are all too
frequently allowed to obscure the sight. With ordinary brakes on smooth
roads from 100 to 150 feet is needed to stop a car moving at 30 miles
per hour. With first-class brakes this might be decreased, but since
it usually takes a driver a short period to react from the time a
car heaves in sight or he sees a break in the pavement or some other
obstruction, there should be allowed 150 feet to stop if the roads
are smooth and hard. In order that there might be a good factor of
safety it is desirable to get at least 250 feet clear vision. This will
require for a 200-ft. radius that the brush, trees and so on should be
cut back about 27 feet from the traveled way. As the radius becomes
larger the distance necessary to clear back becomes less: 300-ft.
radius, clearance, 12 ft.; 400-ft. radius, 7 ft.; 500-ft. radius, 4 ft.
In case the curve is in a cut the bank on the inside at the height of
the eye should be excavated far enough back to give the necessary clear
vision.
At the corners of city streets it will, of course, be impossible to
get a 200-ft. radius. A 12- or 14-ft. radius may usually be obtained.
The rule to turn close to the curb may then be accomplished with the
ordinary automobile providing it is not going very fast. With a square
angle or a short 2- or 3-ft. radius as it was formerly the custom to
put in, and still is in places, it is practically impossible to keep
from going at least to the middle of the street thus endangering motors
on the other side. The cut shows the lines of travel.
[Illustration: Diagram to show why curb corners should be cut back.]
=Curves.=--Notwithstanding curves are dangerous the records of the
Maryland State Commission, heretofore referred to, show that the
largest number of accidents occur at places which always have been
considered safe, while the sections that have been regarded as very
dangerous are relatively free from accidents. On the long straight
stretches, with good vision and free from any elements that might be
considered dangerous, have occurred the greatest number of accidents.
The commission accounts for this on the theory “that even the less
careful motorists drive cautiously in the presence of recognized
dangers, such as steep grades, sharp curves, grade crossings, etc.,
while the absence of such dangerous features gives the driver a sense
of security which prompts him to take a chance and yield to the well
nigh universal passion for speed.”[204]
=Bridges and Culverts.=--Many road accidents can be attributed to poor
and poorly located bridges and culverts. Wooden bridges and culverts
soon decay and become so weak that a heavy vehicle will break them
down. Often culverts of the best type are not cared for as they should
be or there is no abutment protection with the result that a freshet
will wash under and about them so that they are real sources of danger.
Frequently the damage is not visible to the driver and the first
warning is when his vehicle goes down.
In order to shorten them and thus lessen the cost, bridges are often
built straight across the stream or draw, but at a skew to the roadway,
thus requiring a sudden turn to get on to them. Very frequently, too,
bridges and culverts are built too narrow with no guard rails or
markers leading up to them. Notwithstanding the fact that thorough
bridging constitutes a considerable portion of the expense of road
construction, the best plan is to put in substantial structures, wide
as the traveled way, and straight with it, thus lessening a grave
source of danger.
=Railway Crossing Accidents.=--The great number of fatalities at
railway crossings has for years been a theme for much talk, and many
suggestions for the elimination of grade crossings have been made.
The public seems to think that the railways are the ones that oppose
the elimination. As a matter of fact they would welcome elimination
if it could be done at reasonable cost. In 1919 there were eliminated
399 crossings “but there are still 251,939 crossings on Class 1
Railroads (revenue of over $1,000,000 annually) alone and the
conservatively estimated sum which would be required to eliminate all
remaining crossings in the entire United States is placed as high as
$12,500,000,000, which cannot be immediately available.”[205] It is
estimated that more than 2000 persons are killed annually in the United
States at these crossings. The Pennsylvania R.R. Bulletin, February,
1914, states that 430 crossings were eliminated on that road from
1904 to 1913 at a total cost of $27,742,433--an average of $64,518 per
crossing. In Illinois the average cost of eliminating ten crossings
was $58,000. In California the average cost is estimated at $30,000;
in Colorado, $40,000; in New York, $48,000; and in Wisconsin, $25,000,
according to the bulletin mentioned. Even at pre-war prices the average
cost for the whole United States was put at $40,000. Since there are in
the whole country something over 300,000 crossings that will account
for the $12,000,000,000 necessary.
The public must remember that the elimination of crossings even if
the railways could finance such a vast operation would eventually be
charged up to and paid for by the public. While the railroads have a
direct interest in checking crossing accidents, yet in the first and
last analysis the public itself suffers the pain, the mutilation, and
the passing to the Great Beyond, in addition to bearing the financial
burden.[206]
F. T. Darrow, Asst. Chief. Engr., C. B. & Q. R.R., makes this
calculation[207] for the State of Nebraska.
Population 1,350,000
Miles of railway track 6,516
Number of grade crossings 11,300
Cost of entire removal $452,000,000
Cost per mile of track 70,000
Cost per person 330
Nearly doubling the cost value of the railroads, at a price 11 times as
much as railroad service now costs per annum per person.
But suppose the cost were put upon the public at the beginning, the
state would have to finance the $452,000,000, and if it were placed as
a charge against the 80,000 miles of rural highway and the 45,000 miles
of city and village streets, it would amount to $3600 per mile. Similar
calculations could be made for each of the States.
From the above it does not appear probable that either the railroads
or the state or both together, can afford to pay for the elimination
of all grade crossings right away. It is probable that they will be
gradually done away with, although Mr. Darrow states that at present
two or three crossings are added to the list for each one subtracted.
The railroads realize that it is incumbent on them to make the
crossings as safe as possible but that they must look to the education
of the public as a means of immediately reducing fatalities. Hence the
“Cross Crossings Cautiously” campaign in 1922. The bulletin states that
the “Safety First” organized effort had reduced the number of deaths
among railway employees from 4354 in 1907 to 2578 in 1920. A thing
well worth while and a similar campaign against carelessly crossing
crossings may change, at least, the rate of acceleration of crossing
accidents, which have increased in the past thirty years 345 per
cent in fatal and 652 per cent in injury cases, while the country’s
population has increased in the same time only 68 per cent.
=The Automobile and Crossing Accidents.=--To the automobile is
attributed much of the increase. And to careless, indifferent and
reckless driving the greater per cent of it. The railways have made
numerous counts which show the carelessness of the people at railway
crossings. Those given below are typical of them all.
In December, 1913, St. Louis:
Per Cent
Stopped and looked in both directions--pedestrians 1
Kept moving and looked in both directions (of all
pedestrians, vehicles, teams and autos) 2
Kept moving and looked in one direction 7
Kept moving and looked straight ahead 91
(on a total of over 30,000 individual movements)
On the Baltimore and Ohio, Southwest, 1914:
Per Cent
Stopped and looked both directions 5
Kept moving and looked in both directions 13
Kept moving and looked in one direction 18
Kept moving and looked straight ahead 69
In California, 1913:
Per Cent
Stopped and looked in both directions 0.2
Kept moving and looked in both directions 35
Kept moving and looked in one direction 7
Kept moving and looked straight ahead 58
The California Railway Commission in 1917 tested 17,000 motor vehicle
drivers:
27.8 per cent looked both ways
2.7 per cent looked only one way
65.5 per cent looked neither way before crossing.
A Southern Pacific Railway folder gives these figures for automobile
accidents during the period from January 1 to August 1, 1917, taken
from the figures of eighteen railroads:
Total number of accidents 769
Trains striking autos 426
Autos striking trains 112
Autos running through crossing gates 143
Accidents at protected crossings 766
Accidents at unprotected crossings 3
Accidents at night 168
Accidents during daylight 540
Persons injured 515
Persons killed 99
The fact that practically all these accidents occurred at protected
crossings would seem to indicate that most people trust the railway to
look out for them, and do not assume any individual responsibility. It
is to be noted, also, that those who did not look either way are in the
majority in every count. Also the number of automobiles that run into
trains is about one-fourth as many as those that try but fail to get by
in front of the train.
Enough has been said to prove this to be an important item in the vital
and financial economies of the nation. The question then is, what
is the remedy? No specific can be given but relief, partial, may be
secured.
(1) Eliminate grade crossings as rapidly as possible. For this a
coöperation between public and railroad by legislation might be fair.
Some States already do this going “fifty-fifty” on the expense.
(2) By combining public roads, that is vacating some, changing others
by relocation following along the railroad rather than cross over
the track twice as may be necessary if section lines be followed.
Frequently the shortening of the distance and betterment of grades will
pay for the improvement.
(3) By taking advantage of natural features in the location of new
lines of road and railway, and the relocation of old, to avoid grade
crossings. This has been done to a considerable extent in the more
recent locations.
(4) By proper location and construction details:
(_a_) Sharp angles in crossing should be avoided. The crossing should
be made as nearly at right angles to the track as possible. Flat easy
curves can usually be made to lead up to the crossing to accomplish
this. Secure an angle greater than 60° if possible. Catching wheels in
the flangeways or slipping along the track is common when the angle is
sharp. Also a view of the track to the rear is difficult.
(_b_) Steep grades near the track should be avoided. In Kansas and
Colorado the rule is for a level grade for 20 feet from the track. It
would be better to have this read “not steeper than a 2 per cent grade
downward from the track for at least 40 feet.” The roadway would by
this slight slope of not more than 2 feet in 100 feet be better drained
and therefore would keep in better condition. Level roads are liable to
hold water in the ruts and depressions softening them and the railway
track as well. A definite rule should not be made, for circumstances
alter cases. The rails are not always level. If the track is in curve
at point of crossing one rail will be superelevated above the other. If
the track is in cut, or half cut, it may require different treatment
than if in fill. The following sketches will illustrate this.
[Illustration: Steep grades at a crossing should be avoided. The grade
of the highway must conform to the elevation of the rails.]
(_c_) For the same reason the road should have a crown, the amount
depending on the type, earth, sand-clay, and gravel roads from ¹⁄₂
to 1 inch per foot of width, concrete, asphalt, brick and other hard
surfaces may have less.
(_d_) Clear vision for several hundred feet from the roadway along the
track should be secured if possible. This may often be done by the
removal of brush and weeds and the trimming of trees. During certain
seasons of the year cornfields may obstruct the view from some little
distance down the road, but if there is a comparatively level stopping
place near the crossing the driver ought to be able to slow down his
machine, to have it under thorough control, so that it could be stopped
quickly and far enough away from the track for safety, while he looks
both ways along the track. A little coöperation between railroad and
farmer may result in the planting of low growing crops where the view
would be obstructed by the high growing corn. The farmer might also
be willing to have hedges trimmed low and trees trimmed high in such
localities. In some states the laws provide for the annual trimming of
trees and hedges near railway crossings.
(_e_) The railways at the request of the road officers will usually
arrange the rails so that no joint will come upon the crossing, thus
keeping both road and track in better condition.
[Illustration: Safety turn at a railway crossing.]
(_f_) The building of a right-hand turn along the railway track at each
crossing on to which the motorist seeing that he could not pass ahead
of the train or stop his car could drive. See the figure above.
(5) Drivers when they see a train approaching should make it a point to
stop at least 100 feet away from the track. If a flying stop is made
right near the track the engineman will be at a loss whether to apply
the air for the train to stop or take a chance of hitting the vehicle.
Enginemen will appreciate a little courtesy of this kind. Also it will
be much easier to get a start to make the grade over the crossing if a
longer distance is allowed.
(6) Markers indicating the approach to a railroad crossing placed 300
feet back will serve as a caution warning. A good many states are
providing their highways with standard markers. In Illinois certain
crossings are designated with a stop sign and it is a misdemeanor to
go over without first coming to a full stop. In another state the law
requires a stop at all crossings and a ditch, or “thank-you-ma’am”
practically enforces the law.
(7) Automatic electrically driven gongs, bells, colored disks, waving
arms, or red lights are expedients in quite common use.
(8) Crossing gates and watchmen are used where the traffic is heavy.
They are expensive and railroads like to avoid them wherever possible.
On Long Island it is said light gates were run down by the motorists.
Very heavy gates are said to have proven more efficacious.
(9) Locomotives should be equipped with whistles and bells sufficiently
penetrating to be easily heard by drivers of moving automobiles. Mr.
Byron Clark, Chief Counsel of the Burlington railway west of the
Missouri River, called the author’s attention to what he believes to
be a fact, namely, that automobilists when traveling at a rapid gait
do not hear the locomotive whistle which the state law and the railway
rules require to be sounded before each crossing. Since my attention
has been called to this matter I have watched it quite closely and
believe Mr. Clark to be right. Frequently I hear the engine bell but
not the whistle. It might be well to experiment with whistles and
bells of various types. Is there a difference in the audibility of
high-pitched and low-pitched whistles and bells?
(10) But no matter what mechanical devices there are, how carefully the
enginemen obey the law about whistling, or how vigorously the watchman
swings his signal, lack of care on the part of the driver will be
productive of accidents. Before they can be avoided or even decreased
materially it will be necessary for the people generally to come to a
full understanding that they owe it to themselves, to the public and to
the nation to be careful. Life and accident insurance is only a method
of spreading the cost of loss due to death and accident over a larger
number. The economic loss to the people as a whole is just as great
whether there is or is not any insurance. An accident is always an
economic waste. “A careful man is the best safety device known.”
=Clearance.=--The New York State Highway Commission makes it a rule to
secure the following clearance:
When a highway passes under a railroad the crown elevation is made 13.5
feet below the bottom of the bridge girder, and the minimum right angle
distance between abutments is taken as 26 feet. The distance from the
base of the rail to the bottom of the girder varies with the span of
the bridge and ranges from 2 ft. 2 in. for a 30-foot span to 2 ft. 4¹⁄₂
in. for a 110-foot span.
Where the highway crosses over the railroad a minimum clearance of 21.0
feet is required from the top of the rail to the bottom of the highway
bridge girders. The span or right angle opening will vary with the
number of tracks and the standards of the railways. It is, of course,
well to have a clear opening over the entire used roadway. The practice
in some places, of having piers or piles in the center of the road,
unless there is placed around these a safety zone or park extending
each way along the street so that traffic may be separated some little
distance before coming to the pier, is not to be commended.
=Pedestrians.=--While it has been said that 90 per cent of the
accidents are due to lack of caution on the part of the driver, it must
not be thought that there is no contributory negligence.
Pedestrians constantly go across the street without looking up to right
or left. Others look with a leer as much as to say, “hit me if you
dare,” and leisurely proceed. They will not hurry one bit, thus causing
a slow down of the approaching motor and that in turn of the next, and
the next, producing a congestion in traffic with its known liabilities.
Each party has a right to the street, but courtesy should be extended
on both sides. When there is no traffic officer, motorists should
remember to give pedestrians time to cross, and pedestrians should
hurry a little so as not to delay motor traffic.
=Jay Walking.=--Another source of danger which can not be too strongly
condemned is the practice of “jay walking.” The driver of a car along
a crowded thoroughfare is never sure but what some person will pop out
from behind a parked vehicle and start across the street directly ahead
of his machine. By the ordinances of most cities parking is prohibited
near the ends of blocks and the proper walking spaces. Vision is there
clear to the sidewalks. The motorist is expecting pedestrians and is on
the lookout for them. But in the middle of the block with parked cars
along each side with travel more rapid than over the walking spaces it
is difficult to avoid hitting the exasperating jay walker.
=Obstacles that Obscure Vision.=--Many pedestrians have received injury
or been killed by stepping around the rear of street cars, trucks, and
other obstructions to clear vision, directly in front of a passing
vehicle. So suddenly does the pedestrian come into the path of the
moving vehicle that the driver can not stop before hitting him. The
remedy is care on the part of the pedestrian. Look before crossing, is
always an excellent slogan.
=Pedestrians on Country Roads.=--When pedestrians walk along country
roads they should habitually take their left-hand side. Thus they will
meet face to face those machines that are passing along that side of
the roadway, whereas if they walk on the right-hand side the machines
are coming up from their rear and may come near before sounding the
horn. A startled person often jumps in the wrong direction, thus moving
in front of instead of away from the impending danger.
=Slow-Going Vehicles.=--Horse-drawn vehicles should travel on the outer
side of the road if possible in order to allow faster going vehicles
to pass them readily. Often a slow-going truck will take the middle
of the roadway and stubbornly keep it even when asked courteously by
horn to get over. In trying to pass by going partially off the paved
way motors have slipped down due to the soft earth shoulders, with
serious injuries to both persons and machines. Where traffic is heavy
congestion results from slow-going vehicles not taking the outer side
of the way, with its usual disastrous effects.
=Bicycles.=--Boys on bicycles become extremely careless and fool-hardy.
They cut in front of rapidly moving cars and weave from one side of the
roadway to the other. They dart in from behind a parked car or from
a side street. When moving not straight along the wheels are always
likely to slip on wet spots in the pavement or catch in the flangeway
of the street-car tracks.
The bicycle is in itself a very useful machine and, perhaps, the most
economical vehicle built. Its use is to be encouraged by furnishing
special pathways for it to run upon wherever that is practicable.
When used on the main thoroughfares extreme care is necessary. The
motorcycle is a rapidly going machine and should be treated in the same
category as the automobile.
The matter of lights for non-motorized traffic has been mentioned. It
would be well for all to carry lights or reflectors. Motor-cycles with
side-cars should carry two lights in front, one for the cycle and the
other for the side-car.
=Road and Traffic Regulations.=--Very great credit for the development
of traffic regulation in the United States during the past two
decades is due to the persistent and unselfish efforts of William
Phelps Eno,[208] who in the latter part of the last century began
an agitation to reform the traffic situation in New York City. In
December, 1899,[209] he published an article on “Reform in Our Street
Traffic Most Urgently Needed,” followed by many others, with personal
letters and visits to the city officers, and with the publication of
circulars and pamphlets. At first he was not received very favorably
by city officers who seemed more interested in “what personal benefit”
Eno expected to get out of it, than to the good that would come to
the public through such regulation. He later received favorable
consideration by Maj. Gen. Francis V. Greene, Police Commissioner, and
by Capt. A. R. Piper, U. S. A. Retired, who had been placed in charge
of traffic. In a letter dated October 14, 1909, General Greene gives
due credit to Eno, thus,[210]
The plan for street traffic regulation owed its inception to you, and
you have followed it up consistently and persistently to its present
almost perfect development; and in so doing you have conferred a
benefit upon New Yorkers and the dwellers in other large cities, of
very large proportions.
As a result of the combined work of the city officers and Mr. Eno, a
code was compiled which later furnished the basis for the code adopted
by the Highway Transport Committee of the Council of National Defense,
U. S. A., May 8, 1919. Most of the larger cities in the United States,
together with Paris and other European cities, have adopted this or
similar codes. A universal standardization of the National Defense Code
is being sought now by a national organization--The Eno Foundation for
Highway Traffic Regulation, Inc.[211] This code has been revised once
or twice since first adopted by New York. The Foundation will be glad
to receive suggestions for its betterment from any persons interested.
Campaigns like the “Safety First” and the “Cross Crossings
Cautiously” and other “No Accident” campaigns have marked effects. If
the necessity of care could be instilled into the mind of every person,
if each could be made to realize that the next accident might be his,
that accidents are not only painful and disagreeable but always result
in the destruction of property, in personal injury or the loss of life,
the sum total of savings in money and humanity would be tremendous.
All the devices of human ingenuity, all the laws of the sages, and
the education of all agencies will not bring absolute safety. The
human race is too ignorant, too indolent, too self-complacent, too
near, in short, the outskirts of civilization, and the person who
suggests the utmost care, who would curtail the thrills of chance and
danger is a “joy killer” and a “crèpe hanger.” Perhaps so. Infinite
care might result in “innocuous desuetude.” It is said that there was
introduced into a western legislature a bill providing that two trains
on different tracks approaching their crossing point “should both stop
and neither proceed until the other had passed.” The other extreme is
fatalism: “on with the dance, let joy be unconfined”; “eat, drink and
be merry.” Is there not a golden mean?
SELECTED REFERENCES
Accidents, Symposium on Automobile Hazards, by Ralph Stickle, James
L. Roche, Joseph H. Handlon, and William G. Fitzpatrick. _Electric
Railway Journal_, Vol. LVI, pp. 913-921.
American Railway Association, Bulletin issued as a part of the “Cross
Crossings Cautiously,” campaign, 1922.
DARROW, F. T., Asst. Chief Engr., C. B. & Q. R. R., “Grade Crossing
Elimination,” _Nebraska Blue Print_, May, 1920. Lincoln.
ENO, WILLIAM PHELPS, “The Science of Highway Traffic Regulation,”
published by himself and distributed by Brentano’s, New York.
“Facts and Figures of the Automobile Industry,” 1922, National
Automobile Chamber of Commerce, New York.
_Harper’s Weekly_, Accounts and pictures of early railway accidents,
years 1840-1860.
HELD, L. A., Adjuster for the American Railway Express Company,
_Express Messenger_, July, 1922.
WILLIAR, HARRY D., JR., “Maryland Road Accident Map.” _Public Roads_,
September, 1921.
FOOTNOTES
[201] “Facts and figures of the Automobile Industry,” 1922, published
by the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, gives the following
table under the heading “Ratio of Accidents to Traffic Declines”:
----+---------+-----------+------------+----------+----------
|Number of| Total | |Number of | Auto
| Auto | Number | | Cars | Deaths
| Deaths | Auto[202] |Registration| per 1000 | per 1000
Year| per Car | Deaths | of Cars |Population|Population
----+---------+-----------+------------+----------+----------
1917| .0019 | 9,184 | 4,983,340 | 48 | .0887
1918| .0016 | 9,672 | 6,146,617 | 59 | .0919
1919| .0013 | 9,827 | 7,558,848 | 71 | .0936
1920| .00123 |11,358 | 9,211,295 | 87 | .1040
1921| .00119 |12,500[203]| 10,448,632 | 99 | .1100
----+---------+-----------+------------+----------+----------
[202] Estimated of entire U. S. by National Workmen’s Compensation
Service Bureau applying Census Bureau for registration area to grand
total.
[203] Estimated from incomplete figures. Later statistics of the U.
S. Census Bureau gives automobile accidents in 1921, 9103; in 1922,
10,168.
[204] Harry D. Williar, Jr., Assistant Chief Engineer, in _Public
Roads_, September, 1921.
[205] Bulletin issued by the American Railway Association as a part
of the “Cross Crossings Cautiously” campaign, June to September,
inclusive, 1922.
[206] “Cross Crossings Cautiously” Bulletin.
[207] Nebraska _Blue Print_, May, 1920. Published by the Engineering
Society of the University of Nebraska.
[208] Formerly Chairman of the Citizens’ Street Traffic Committee of
New York City, Honorary President of the Highway Traffic Association
of the state of New York, Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the
Highway Transport Committee of the United States Council of National
Defense, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Eno Foundation for
Highway Traffic Regulation, Inc., etc.
[209] “The Science of Highway Traffic Regulation,” by W. P. Eno.
Distributed by Brentano’s, New York.
[210] Eno, op. cit.
[211] Main Office, Saugatuck, Fairfield County, Conn.
CHAPTER XII
HIGHWAY ESTHETICS
One test for success is the degree of satisfaction produced. A
successful book satisfies the majority of its readers. A machine is
successful when it performs the duties intended to the satisfaction of
its operators. In business satisfaction brings repeat orders; in art it
gives emotional pleasure, and we return again and again to look upon
it. The ancient writer Vitruvius says the three indispensable elements
of architecture are _Firmitas_, _Utilitas_, _Venustas_, stability,
utility, beauty. That one which in the long run is most pleasing to the
builder and gives the greatest degree of satisfaction is beauty.
Most people are sensible to the charms of nature and art, that feeling
excited in the mind when observing those things called beautiful,
and to a feeling of revulsion and, possibly, disgust when brought
in contact with the ugly. The so-called esthetic sense enables us
to appreciate and admire the beautiful in nature and art, to enjoy
literature and music, to delight in wit and humor, and even to
recognize beauty in a mathematical problem.
Can the principles of esthetic construction be applied to the humble
road? Most assuredly, everyone recognizes that the first two elements,
stability and utility, are very essential qualifications, but the
public fails to get the greatest possible satisfaction from the road
because it neglects the element of beauty. Until the profession of
Road Aesthete has been evolved, therefore, it might be well, in at
least a crude way, to apply to the highway some of the principles
of architecture and landscape gardening. Since the roadway is of
necessity flat it blends in well with landscape gardening and the
characteristics of unity, variety, and fitness are fundamental. All
parts that are above the surface may receive a true architectural
treatment. Bridges are especially amenable. With the very large
bridges there is present the element of size, vastness, and when
properly proportioned they excite in the mind of man a feeling of
awe akin to appreciation of the sublime in nature and impress upon
him a deep sense of the greatness of human power. In all bridges the
elements of proportion, harmony and symmetry are applicable. And
with the beauty and grandeur of form comes the heightened effect
of embellishment--ornament and color. Here, however, the skill,
experience, and taste of the artist must come in. Embellishment may
be carried too far. A simple decoration of constructive parts is
usually sufficient. Massive concrete is itself pleasing, but possibly
a rubbing of the surface will enhance the effect of light and shade
and bring into prominence the lines which the bridge architect desires
to emphasize. The coloring due to the materials used is usually deemed
sufficient, although there may be places where harmony demands a
special treatment.
Much the same principles are involved in landscape gardening. It
might be well if every road engineer also had a course in the art of
landscape gardening, and some have gone so far as to contend that the
need for the services of an expert landscape architect to assist in
the design of highways is obvious. The artistic qualities of landscape
gardening applicable to the beautification of highways may be conceived
to be unity, variety, and character.
Unity means that in the landscape composition some leading idea,
motive, shall prevail, and that details shall be subordinate to it.
In order that a motive may be most effective one master mind should
have charge of the landscape work for an entire road; plans should be
completely made and all planting within and along the edges of the
right of way should be absolutely under his supervision. In only a few
instances has road gardening been carried to this extent. Perhaps this
may be due to a lack of art education on the part of the public, to
a sort of inherent feeling that Nature will take care of her own and
cover without artificial aid all ugly spots, or to a lack of necessary
funds.
Two great styles ordinarily mentioned are the Natural and the
Architectural. They are sometimes spoken of as the English and the
Italian, because they have been respectively most highly developed in
these countries. Another style called the Picturesque has its adherents
for certain locations.
The natural style attempts to retain naturalness as far as possible--in
extreme cases refusing to prune trees or clear out trees weakened
by decay and blown down by the wind. Generally the best effects
are obtained by not going that far. Open lawns, curved lines, and
grouped trees are utilized to obtain the appearance of naturalness.
Shrubs and flowering perennials are used to furnish a natural and
pleasing connection between the open lawns and the wooded portions of
the landscape. They may be used in profusion to hide unnatural and
inartistic features, and often will be low enough to look over and
therefore beautiful vistas need not be eliminated.
The Architectural style seeks to carry the architectural composition
of the buildings into the landscape. The extreme Italian style is
diametrically opposed to the extreme English. It has been said that
they are mutually exclusive. For best effects that may be true, but the
modern tendency seems to be to recognize that each has its advantage in
special situations. Modern landscape architects are not adverse to a
proper mixture of the two.
The writer is of the opinion that road gardening will be best as a
compromise between the two extreme styles. The fact that the road must
be laid down through a long, narrow stretch of land, that ditches must
be maintained for drainage, that embankments and cuts must continually
alternate, makes a purely naturalistic treatment impossible. The
geometrical must be in evidence. In country districts with wide right
of ways--in some places they are as much as 200 feet--the road may be
considered as separating two plots in which there is room for much open
grassy space and group planting along the outer edges. With narrower
roads the trees will necessarily be planted in rows uniformly spaced,
depending upon the width of the street and species of trees, giving an
“avenue” effect. In cities greater formality is necessary than in the
country, but even there planting the less formal trees will tend to
give more or less naturalness to the whole.
The architects will not agree with me in believing that satisfactory
combinations of the two great styles may be obtained. They believe
that street planting, for example, should be in (1) parallel rows
with the street, (2) the trees should be uniformly spaced, and (3)
the individual trees should be just as nearly uniform as possible. I
will admit that the main lines of trees should be parallel with the
street but do not admit that irregular groups of shrubbery and flowers
will destroy the artistic effect. That the larger trees should be
uniformly spaced and of the same variety and size for the same block
or street is also admitted. But, that such trees as the American elm,
for instance, because it is lacking in formality, is not a good street
tree, cannot be admitted. Neither do I believe that an avenue made up
of palms, Lombardy poplars, or dwarfed catalpas, is any more beautiful,
harmonious or restful than a street of long curving pendulant elms,
although geometrical boldness has not been so thoroughly carried out in
the latter case. Clipped trees, occasionally in fantastic shapes, are
sometimes seen. It scarcely needs to be said, that however appropriate
they may be in an Italian villa, they have no place along an American
highway. But neatly clipped hedges of privet or mulberry may add
materially in outlining the geometrical arrangement.
It is my opinion that the main trees along a country highway should be
much farther apart than they are usually planted. Two to three times
the spread of a grown tree of the same variety in that region is none
too much. Or the distance may equal the height plus the spread. If
they are placed on both sides of the roadway they should be alternated,
staggered. This gives the trees each individually an opportunity of
undisturbed growth, and if they are adapted to the locality and well
fed will form large symmetrical trees. American elms, for the Mid-west
states should be placed not less than 100 feet apart along country
roads. Lombardy poplar closer, say 75 feet; while they do not spread
so very far they do grow high. Another reason, in addition to that of
unrestricted growth, for setting the trees far apart is that for some
distance from a tree, perhaps because of the spread of its roots or the
shade, crops do not grow well. And as the tree must usually be planted
near the edge of the right of way, the farmer who owns the adjacent
land is being robbed of the fertility of his soil. The fewer trees that
may be set and still give a good appearance the better. The improved
appearance of the highway and its benefit to the farm fully compensates
for the loss of land, without doubt, when the trees are spaced wide as
has been suggested.
The varieties of trees that should be planted along highways depends
upon the location of the land. Those species that will thrive on low
bottom land may not thrive on the table and upland. The eucalyptus
grows rapidly into a tall, dignified stately tree in California, but
would not live at all in Minnesota. The paper birch of Michigan and
New York might be out of place entirely in Texas. Only those trees
should be planted that experience shows are fitted for the region and
locality. In Europe it is common practice to plant apple and other
fruit trees along the highway. Such trees might not thrive under
American vandalism. Mr. C. A. Reed of the United States Department of
Agriculture[212] recommends the planting of nut trees. Among others
he mentions black walnut, hickory, Japanese walnut, beech, chestnut,
filbert or hazel, and pecan. Of non-nut-bearing trees he thinks the
elm the best all-around tree. He also mentions the sugar maple, the
linden, the apple, and especially a native variety known as thorn
apple, hawthorn or red haw.
There are many other species that grow well. The pin oak and other
varieties of oak may be transplanted; two or three poplars--a variety
of cottonwood known commercially as Carolina poplar is a rapid growing
but short-lived tree; ashes, locusts, catalpa, sycamore, the pines,
spruces, cedars, and larches, all do well in some localities. Plums,
choke-cherries, and black haws make good screening thickets and furnish
fruit for the birds. The wild grape and the Virginia creeper will soon
completely cover unsightly fences, rocks, and stumps; the birds also
like their fruits. For low planting practically all the shrubs used
in decorative gardening are available, while the perennial herbaceous
flowering plants become veritable splotches of color to delight the eye
of the discerning wayfarer.
In the language of Oliver Wendell Holmes, “It will not do to be
exclusive in our tastes about trees. There is hardly one of them
which has not peculiar beauties in some fitting place for it.” Even
a blasted and wind-torn tree, or those trees which have the quality
of picturesqueness, such as the gingko, cut-leaved maple, Kentucky
coffee, weeping larch, or those artificially dwarfed trees, catalpa and
mountain ash, all may be utilized in their appropriate places.
=Trees.=--_Apple._--A rather good-looking tree with a beautiful show of
blossoms in the spring. Used extensively as a road tree in Europe. The
native crab-apple and the thorn-apple (red haw) are both fine for their
blossoms. They do not grow large so can be used in group planting.
_Arbor vitae._--A species of cedar used for screens, wind-breaks,
and hedges, and for filling in shrubbery where a variety of color is
desired.
_Ash._--There are some half dozen or more varieties found native in the
United States covering a region from the Atlantic to the Rockies and
extending into Oregon and Washington. Nearly all of them are suitable
for road and street trees. In parks they are good for massing as they
stand close planting.
_Aspen._--A species of poplar, rapid growing and often springs up in
the pine forests after the conifers have been cut off. The color of the
leaves makes it desirable in some plantings. Will grow in close masses.
_Balm of Gilead._--A species of poplar (black cottonwood); a
good-looking tree but like other poplars not especially desirable as a
road tree, but in all the Northern states where quick growth is wanted
might be used.
_Bamboo._--Native of South Sea Island, Philippines, southern Asia,
other southern countries and a species in Florida. A rapid growing
plant, quite graceful, and can be utilized for group and massive
planting where acclimated.
_Basswood._--See Linden.
_Bay._--See Laurel.
_Beech._--A beautiful tree both in summer and winter. Best when grown
individually. There are fifteen or more species belonging to the genus
(_Fagus_). The blue beech or ironwood, a rather small tree, may be used
where its peculiar color is desired.
_Birch._--Some twenty-four species are known in the United States,
inhabiting mostly the northern part, extending into Canada and Alaska.
The birches, especially the paper or white birch, are distinguished
by their light-colored bark. That of the white birch was used by the
Indians for canoes. It is an excellent park tree if it can be saved
from being peeled by the ubiquitous vandal.
_Box Elder._--A species of maple found quite generally from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. It grows to a height of
approximately fifty feet with a spread about the same. It casts a dense
shade and since it will stand severe climatic changes is a good tree
for the naturally treeless sections. Has been used much as a street
tree, although not particularly shapely as to trunk.
_Buckeye._--The buckeye and horse chestnut are species of the same
genus. To the native species is usually given the name buckeye. The
Ohio buckeye is from 30 to 45 feet in height and is useful in mass
planting and not at its best in road planting.
[Illustration: PIN OAK STREET TREES
About 15 Years Old on Land that Was Once Considered to be a part of the
“Great American Desert.”]
[Illustration: A COTTONWOOD WIND BREAK
Formerly very Common in the Prairie Region.]
_Camphor._--The Camphor Tree (_Cinnamomum camphora_) is quite commonly
planted for street trees in the Southeastern, Southern and the
Southwestern states. The tree is a thrifty grower and is nice and
straight. The leaves and wood have the characteristic aromatic camphor
odor, and from them can be extracted the juice. Another tree of the
same genus _C. zeylanicum_ has also been imported from Asia and may be
found in the same states. From the roots is obtained cassia bark.
_Catalpa._--Was planted extensively a few years ago because it was
thought it would quickly develop timber large enough for fence posts
and ties in a few years. The best variety is the _Catalpa speciosa_,
which grows under favorable conditions to a height of 60 feet, with a
spread of 30 feet. The leaves are large and of good color, but slow
to appear in the spring and drop at the first frost in the fall.
The flowers are very showy. For this reason, its general shapely
appearance, and its rapid growth, it is a good road tree. It does not
seem to be very long lived, and as a street tree it is objected to by
those having close cropped lawns because of its bad habit of shedding
its long seed pods all summer.
_Cedar._--There are many species of cedars, both red and white. The
arbor vitae has already been mentioned. _Juniperus virginiana_ is
perhaps the best road tree. It grows from 50 to 80 feet tall with a
spread of one-quarter to one-third its height. It is suitable in nearly
every place where evergreens can be utilized. Its pyramidal shape makes
it well adapted to formal landscape architecture and hence would make a
good road tree for avenue planting.
_Citrus Fruit._--Orange, lemon, grapefruit, and citron are freely
planted in Florida and California. Where these come up to the highway
they answer for road trees. The citrus trees have a beautiful dark
green shiny foliage with a round top, and with their flowers and
ripening fruit are always interesting.
_Coffee Tree._--A good lawn or park tree, but a very few specimens will
be sufficient.
_Cherry._--The wild cherry, _Prunus serotina_, also called
black-cherry, grows native over much of the eastern and central
portions of the United States. It is the tree from which the cherry
wood is obtained. It is hardy, grows to a good height, 40 to 80 feet,
with a spread of 20 to 40 feet. It is a good road tree spoken of by
one writer as “charmingly unconventional,” and bears a slightly bitter
pea-sized fruit of which the birds are fond. It is deserving of larger
planting as a road and street tree. The chokecherry is a much smaller
tree, from 5 to 20 feet high and can be used in massing and screening.
The blossoms in the spring and a little later the fruit of which birds
are extremely fond, make it worthy of attention. The Japanese flowering
cherry and tame cherries are sometimes used for their blossoms.
_Cottonwood._--A species of poplar found native from Maine to Florida
and westward to the Rocky Mountains. Being so hardy and a rapid growing
tree, it was planted freely by the early settlers in the plains regions
of the Mid-west. A variety known as Carolina poplar grows especially
straight and tall, from 75 to 100 feet, with a spread of 25 to 30 feet.
The cottonwood is not strong and is liable to be broken in the wind,
because of this fact old trees are usually more or less unsightly. The
shedding of cotton from the pistilate tree is objected to, but this
trouble may be avoided by propagating only from staminate trees by
cuttings. Nevertheless it is a valuable tree where rapid growth and
quick shade is desired.
_Chestnut._--The chestnut (_Castania vulgarus_) and one or two other
species was formerly an important timber tree in the Eastern states.
The tree when not in foliage looks something like red oak. It grows
to a height of 75 to 100 feet, 5 to 12 feet in diameter. In Europe a
chestnut is mentioned 204 feet in circumference. The spread of the
tree is from one-fourth to one-half its height. The nuts are edible. A
bark disease has carried off most of the Eastern trees, and the larvæ
of insects almost universally infect the nuts. However, it is a rapid
grower and might be worth planting where it is known to thrive.
_Cucumber Tree._--A large, handsome tree, symmetrical, 50 to 75 feet in
height of the magnolia family, its fruit resembling cucumbers. It is a
native of the Eastern states.
_Cypress._--The bald cypress, though a large tree and of commercial
importance, has little value as a road tree because it grows in swamps,
the very worst place for a road. It might be utilized in the lake of a
park.
_Dogwood._--A native shrub of several varieties. Its low growing
tendencies, its beautiful flowers and showy fruit make it a valuable
ornamental shrub for parks. A species _Cornus Florida_ grows into a
tree some 25 feet high.
_Douglas Spruce or Fir._--Snow[213] states this (_Pseudotsuga_) genus
“is neither a true pine, spruce, nor fir, but a sort of bastard
hemlock. The name ‘pseudotsuga’ is from _pseudo_, or false, and _tsuga_
or hemlock.” These trees are among the largest known and the wonder of
the traveler through the forests of Oregon and Washington. Along the
lines of these roads it were well, if the pleasure of the tourist be
of import, to retain the most beautiful specimens. It grows from 175
to sometimes 300 feet in height, and 3 to 5, and sometimes 10 feet in
diameter.
_Elm._--The American elm (_Ulmus americana_) is considered by many
to be the best street and road tree in this country. It has a large
rounded top with long graceful branches. The shade is not very dense
and the lack of foliage near the ground allows the free circulation of
air. It grows into an exceptionally fine individual specimen and will
also group well. The general good appearance of the tree both in summer
and in winter makes it a favorite. There are some fifteen different
species of elm distributed over the temperate portions of the Northern
Hemisphere, except along the western coast of North America. The wood
being tough and fibrous it withstands damage from the wind fairly well.
Occasionally the long branches become so heavy they break down, but
usually the tree is so well balanced that it stands up well. The white
or American elm is the favorite for road work. The red or slippery elm
(_U. pubescens_) is a beautiful tree and would be used more frequently
in road and park work were it not that its delectable mucilaginous
inner-bark makes it the mark of the road vandal. White elm grows from
90 to 100 feet in height with a spread of 50 to 75 feet. There is a
tree now being featured by the nurseries called English elm which has a
smooth bark and very shapely appearance. The cork elm (_U. racemosa_),
grows from 75 to 90 feet in height, best developed in southern Ontario
and Michigan, with a somewhat rough shaggy bark, is also a good road
tree.
_Eucalyptus._--This genus includes about 400 species. They are
variously and locally known as gum trees, stringy-barks, iron-barks,
mahoganies, and box, and are natives of Australia and neighboring
islands. They have been widely planted throughout the world in warm
climates. The blue gum (_Eucalyptus globulus_) does well at least as
far north as Sacramento, and has practically changed the landscape
of Southern California and Arizona. The tree has an extremely rapid
growth, reaching a height of 200 and sometimes 300 feet. Some of the
trees have a shaggy exfoliating bark while others seem smooth. The
leaves of the young tree in some of the species, very noticeable
in the blue gum, change their form and color as the tree reaches a
certain age. Likewise the color and shape of the leaves and flowers
differ widely with different species. They all are “evergreen” but the
leathery leaves are blue, gray, or green. The leaves of the blue gum
are blue, oval, and stalkless when the tree is young while the leaves
of the older trees have stems, are dark green, some 10 or 12 inches
long, an inch wide, and sickle shaped. In southern California they
have been known to grow 25 feet in one year. The various varieties may
be used in various ways, some for wind breaks and massing and some
for individual specimens. Some are brilliant with flowers during a
period of year when other flowers are scarce. Eucalyptus oil extracted
from them is used as a medicine. For dry warm climates they make an
excellent road tree.
_Fir._--There are a large number of species and like other evergreens
have their uses in landscape work. They look much like the spruces. In
the West many of them grow to tremendous sizes.
_Gingko._--A picturesque tree, sometimes called the maiden-hair, has
been used about the city of Washington for street purposes. _Gingko
biloba_ is a native of Japan. While beautiful it would require much
care to get it properly started.
_Gum Tree._--The name is applied to trees of diverse species. Sweet
gum (_Liquidambar styraciflua_) grows from Connecticut to Florida, and
westward, intermittently to Illinois and Texas. Greatest development in
the basin of the Mississippi River. This is a tall, straight tree with
symmetrical top, rather smooth bark with corky ridges. A good-looking
road tree. The star-shaped leaves turn brilliant scarlet in the fall.
The seed pods are a sort of bur or rounded ball. Black, or sour gum,
while the wood is difficult to work and does not burn easily, ought to
be a fairly successful road tree in some localities. Grows from 45 to
100 feet high.
_Hedge._--See Osage Orange.
_Hackberry._--In the Western prairie states has proven itself to be a
very good street tree. Grows to a height of about 50 feet with a spread
of 30 feet. The bark is corky and deep cut, giving it a rough surface.
In general appearance resembles the elm. Deserves more general planting.
_Hemlock._--Is found native, in several species, over the northern
part of the United States and southern Canada. Frequently found with
broad-leaved and other needle-leaved timber. _Tsuga canadensis_ grows
from 60 to 80 feet in height, has short leaves, green above and light
beneath, a straight trunk and beautiful appearance. Western hemlock is
found as high as 6500 feet above sea level.
_Hickory._--The several species of this genus are recommended highly
for road purposes in the Eastern half of the United States. Probably
at its best from Michigan to Missouri. The shagbark (_Hicoria ovata_)
grows to a height of 75 to 90 feet with a spread of half as much. The
bark is rough and shaggy--hence the name. It bears fine edible nuts
in abundance. It will well repay planting along the roads. Pignut
(_H. glabra_) a fine tree of about the same height has a smooth bark
and nuts that are rather bitter and sometimes astringent, but from
its fine appearance and useful wood is worthy of planting. Pecan (_H.
pecan_) is especially adaptable to the more southern climates, growing
very thriftily in Texas and other Southern states. Reed says,[214]
“it is the noblest nut tree of all American species. Beautiful trees,
sometimes 3 or 4 feet through at the base and from 100 to 150 feet
tall, occur in the alluvial soils of the Mississippi River and its
tributaries and in the Southwest. In the Southern states it forms
a splendid roadside tree and orchards of it are worth going long
distances to see. Very often enough nuts are gathered from a half dozen
trees on a city lot to pay the taxes and keep up the insurance on the
home.”
_Holly._--Occasionally 50 feet in height but more often much smaller,
particularly in the North. Occurs from Massachusetts to Texas. The
foliage is evergreen and the beautiful red berries remain until spring.
Might be utilized in park plantings.
_Horse Chestnut._--See Buckeye.
_Juniper._--See Cedar.
_Koelreuteria._--_Koelreuteria paniculata_ is recommended for a park
tree for middle ground planting, being a small tree, 15 to 30 feet
high, with feathery pinnate leaves and yellow blossoms.
_Larch._--The larches are deciduous, needle-leaved conifers. A tall,
straight, slender tree. If planted at all should be in groups or
masses. The winter aspect is not particularly inviting.
_Laurel._--The laurels, known as magnolia trees, _Magnolia grandiflora_
found along the Atlantic as far north as Washington, and _Umbellularia
californica_ and _Arbutus menziesii_ found in California, are
ornamental trees of the highest rank. They make fine individual
specimens reaching a height from 50 to 100 feet and a spread fully half
as much. The dark evergreen foliage and large showy flowers give them a
most beautiful appearance. A magnolia avenue is certainly worth seeing.
Several other varieties of laurel are recommended for planting as far
north as New York.
_Lemon._--See Citrus Fruit.
_Lignum vitae._--A low gnarled tree grown in semitropical regions.
Could be used in picturesque landscape work.
_Linden._--Variously called basswood, whitewood, linn, beetree; is
found intermittently throughout the eastern half of the United States.
It is, when grown, 60 to 90 feet in height and has a spread of 30 to
45 feet. It has large, smooth leaves and in the spring its flowers
are very productive of honey. It is quick growing but said to be long
lived. The American linden (_Tilia americana_) is perhaps the most
thrifty for a road tree. It can be used individually and deserves more
extensive planting.
_Locust._--The name locust seems to have been applied to three distinct
genera of the family _Leguminosae_. The black locust (_Robinia
pseudacia_) is a fine appearing tree but in the Middle West is much
subject to attack by borers. In other regions it does not seem to
suffer that way. It attains a height of 50 to 75 feet, and a spread
half as great. The honey locust, a little larger tree, 75 to 90 feet
high, with a spread of 30 to 40 feet, is less subject to borer attack,
and is one of the hardiest trees for Western Kansas[215] upland
planting. The long compound thorns are sometimes objectionable, but
these may be avoided by selecting only those specimens having no
thorns, for the thorns are frequently absent. As a road tree the
honey locust is worthy of much attention. Another genus of locusts is
the ordinary mesquite (_Prosopis juliflora_) of the so-called desert
regions. They sometimes grow to 40 or 50 feet in height, sometimes they
are a shrub. They are naturally a dry country plant and should be used
in places where the moisture is scanty. It is said,[216] “The easily
agitated foliage cools the air to a surprising degree.” The “cool
shade of the mesquite” is a characteristic phrase. A valuable tree in
its own region. The roots furnish wood, the pods are filled with a
sweetish pulp from which the Indians, it is said, made “bread, cake,
and fermented drink.” “A black dye is obtained from the sap, and a good
mucilage from the gum.”
_Magnolia._--See Laurel.
_Maple._--One of the best road trees, by some considered superior
to Elm. The hard maple (_Acer saccharum_), the soft maple (_Acer
saccharinum_), are the principal American species of the genus,
comprising very many, which grow in the Northern Hemisphere. The Norway
maple (_Acer platanoides_) similar to the hard or sugar maple, has
been imported and is used to a considerable extent. The hard maple in
New York state and the east is a rapid growing tree; when transplanted
to the plains region its growth is very slow. The Norway maple seems
to be more rapid, but that too, is slow in those regions. Hard maples
grow to 70 or 100 or more feet in height with a spread of nearly the
same. When allowed to grow individually and branch from the ground,
they form an oval top nearly as wide as high. The shade is dense and
the numerous branches in winter and heavy foliage in summer give to the
tree a very fine appearance. The leaves turn yellow and scarlet in the
fall giving to the woods a most fascinatingly gorgeous aspect. What
has been said about the hard maple is true in a lesser extent of soft
maples. In the western part of the Mississippi Valley the soft maple is
a much more rapid grower. The height attained is not quite so great,
40 to 90 feet. They have when allowed room a fine shape sometimes
suggesting elm. The leaves are silvery white beneath, which is why they
are sometimes called silver maple. They do not turn so yellow or so
red in autumn as the hard maple. On the whole a road tree that may be
recommended. The red maple has been mentioned under the name box elder.
The Oregon maple (_Acer macrophyllum_) about the same size as the soft
maple is one of the most ornamental broad-leaved trees on the Pacific
Coast.
_Mulberry._--Red and white, named from the color of the ripe fruit,
under good conditions attain a height of 40 to 60 feet, and are quite
ornamental. The fruit is sweet, lacking in acid, but is liked by the
birds and by some people. A Russian shrub variety is used for low
hedges and stands trimming remarkably well.
_Oak._--The oaks not only furnish the finest of building lumber but
are practically all good ornamental trees. The principal reasons they
are not used more are the difficulty of transplanting them and their
slow growth. However, they are well worth the trouble and wait. The
oaks, of which there are some 300 species, are found native in most of
the Northern Hemisphere and in a few places south of the equator. They
are usually classified as white oaks, red oaks and live oaks. They are
quite easily distinguished by the foliage, bark, and general appearance
of the trees, but not easily, always, by the wood. In all cases the
fruit is an acorn, an oval or oblongly lanceolate smooth nut having a
thin shell and partly enclosed in a scaly woody cup. A dozen or more
species could be described as good road and park trees, but a few will
suffice. White oak (_Quercus alba_) is widespread throughout the north
central and eastern United States. It rises to 75 or 100 feet in height
and spreads nearly as much. It is truly a magnificent tree when grown.
The cow oak (_Q. michauxii_) grows best in a slightly more southern
region, is nearly the same size. The chestnut oak (_Q. prinus_) is
slightly smaller, is found along the eastern border, has leaves
somewhat resembling a chestnut, and reaches 75 to 80 feet in height.
Post oak (_Q. minor_), still smaller, inhabits the Gulf states. Bur oak
(_Q. macrocarpa_), one of the largest of the oaks, extends farthest
west and northwest of the eastern oaks. It is recommended for prairie
planting. The red oak, (_Q. rubea_) best in the Northeastern states,
is found native as far west as Nebraska. It is 90 to 100 feet in
height, is rather more upright than the white oaks, the spread not so
great. The pin oak (_Q. palustris_) has proven itself well adapted for
transplanting. Since it has a straight upright trunk and symmetrical
body is a good street and road tree, at least as far west as Nebraska.
The live oaks (_Q. virginiana_), (_Q. agrifolia_), (_Q. chrysotepis_)
do well in the Southern states and in California. They grow from 50 to
80 feet in height and are evergreen. _Q. bicolor_, and the scarlet oak,
_Q. coccinea_, are also recommended for landscape gardening.
_Orange._--See Citrus Fruit.
_Osage Orange._--Used extensively for hedges, hence the name sometimes
given to it, “hedge.” Fruit resembles an orange. Long thorns. Wood
hard, but checks badly in drying; heart, a beautiful orange, sapwood
yellow. Makes very durable fence posts.
_Palm._--Palms come under the division Endogenous, or those that
increase from within. Yuccas, cornstalks, sugar cane, bamboos are other
examples of endogens. There are 1000 or more species of palms. Some
of them are very decorative and in regions where they grow, such as
Southern California and Florida, may be used very effectively for road
and park embellishment. The Washington palm (_Washingtonia filifera_)
grows to a height of 30 to 60 feet, with a tuft of fan-shaped leaves at
the top. Old leaves die and hang down the tree like a thatched roof.
Sometimes these are trimmed off, leaving a smooth stem nearly the same
size all the way up. They are very effective in producing rows or
avenues. Cabbage palmetto (_Sabal palmetto_) also has a long stem with
a tuft of leaves at the top. The date palm (_Phoenix dactylifera_) has
been grown quite successfully in Arizona. Several other species are
available.
_Pecan._--See Hickory.
_Pepper._--Snow[217] states that the California pepper tree or Peruvian
mastic (_Schinus molle_) was introduced into California from Peru by
the early Spanish missions. It is now a very popular street and road
tree. In general appearance it suggests the drooping foliage of the
weeping willow. It is very irregular and grows to 30 or 50 feet high
with a spread nearly as great. The fine fern-like foliage and the long
sprays of rose tinted berries make it very ornamental. It gives off a
pleasant pungent peppery odor, and it is claimed to have the property
of stopping dust, something greatly needed during the summer season in
California.
_Pignut._--One of the Hickories, q. v.
_Pine._--Nearly forty species of pine are found in the United States.
They have high ornamental qualities and are used extensively in nearly
every part of the country. Except on the great plains, one or more
species are to be found. The different species grow from mere dwarfs to
immense trees. For park purposes the white pine (_Pinus strobus_), an
imported Scotch pine, an imported Norway pine, and the dwarf mugho have
been very popular. (The sugar pine (_P. lambertiana_) grows in the high
regions of California, is a fine tree and has cones 16 to 18 inches
long).
_Plane Tree._--See Sycamore.
_Plum._--Is used in thickets for screening and for its flowers and
fruit. Pissard’s plum has been largely used for ornamental planting.
The American plum (_Prunus americana_) works well in a general
composition and is very thrifty.
_Poplar._--The aspen, cottonwood, and balm of Gilead, have already
been mentioned, one more needs attention, whitewood or tulip tree
(_Liriodendron tulipifera_), found native in the eastern part of the
United States. It is the tree from which the whitewood of commerce is
mostly obtained. It grows to a height of 90 to 150 feet, and to a
diameter of 6 to 12 feet, with a corresponding wide spread. It has been
cut out until it is not particularly common any more. On account of the
wood being soft, without knots, and free from season checks, the logs
were utilized by the Indians for “dugout” boats. Hough states some were
large enough to carry twenty or thirty persons. This, one of the most
useful of American deciduous trees, deserves more liberal planting.
_Quercus._--See Oak.
_Redwood._--These trees are native to California. There are two
species--the mammoth trees (_Sequoia washingtonia_) of which a
comparatively few large specimens remain, and the common redwood
(_S. sempervirens_) which is now being rapidly cleared off by lumber
companies. “Big or mammoth trees have been measured up to 320 feet in
height and 35 feet in diameter” (Snow). These trees on account of the
thick bark, on the large trees some 2 feet, resist fires very well.
This is shown by ring counting and investigations on a fallen tree by
Professor Dudley.[218] This tree dated back to 271 years before the
Christian Era and showed that fires had occurred during the years A.D.
245, 1441, 1580, and 1797. The last fire charred a space 30 feet high
and 18 feet broad, but full recovery had been made. The tree grows
rapidly. Snow states that trees have been known to develop a height of
80 feet and a diameter of 16 inches in thirty years. In the Mariposa
grove, at least partially under U.S. Forest Reserve, the roads wind
about through the great natural avenues formed by these trees. On
account of the great commercial value of redwood the trees might, in
places where they will grow, be utilized for road planting to encourage
their growth by others, and assist the government in its long-time
forest plans.
_Sassafras._--Native to the eastern part of the country is a good
looking tree of small size, rising to a height of 30 to 50 feet with a
spread one-third as great. It has the characteristic sassafras odor,
the bark of the roots being used for medicine. Will mass well. The
leaves being some lobed and some not lobed lend a pleasing variety. Is
best in naturalistic planting.
_Sequoia._--See Redwood.
_Shagbark._--See Hickory.
_Spruce._--Perhaps the most important evergreen used in landscape
gardening, sharing that position with the pines. They seem to enjoy
long winters and short summers, hence are well adapted to the Northern
states. As they have a very trim symmetrical shape they can be utilized
exceptionally well in formal planting. They go well also with informal
planting, lending a splotch of green on an otherwise gray winter
landscape. When planted at uniform spacing along an avenue they outline
it exceedingly well without very much obstruction to clear vision
if they are not set close together. The black (_Picea nigra_) and
white (_Picea alba_) spruces rise from 40 to 100 feet in height with
a compact symmetric conical shape. The black spruce has the darker
foliage. The Colorado blue spruce (_P. parryana_) has been much in
vogue as an ornamental tree, the new foliage having a blue tinge.
Norway spruce (_P. abies_) has been used very largely in ornamental
cultivation. The cones are large, 5 to 7 inches, nearly cylindrical,
and the branches droop in artistic fashion. The Sitka Spruce (_P.
sichensis_) of the Pacific coast region from Alaska to Northern
California is a large tree of great commercial importance, and will
grow well on low grounds.
_Sugar Tree._--See Maple.
_Sycamore._--The plane tree or buttonwood (_Platanus occidentalis_) is
found in the central and eastern portion of the United States, best in
the Ohio and Mississippi River basins. It attains a height of 90 to 100
feet, and a spread of half as much. The outer bark peels off, leaving
the inner exposed in white patches. Its straight, upright trunk and
symmetrical form when allowed free growth ought to commend it for road
planting. The fruit are rough balls about an inch in diameter which
dangle in the air like ornaments on a Christmas tree. The California
sycamore (_P. racemosa_) is a smaller tree with a poorer quality of
wood, but in general appearance somewhat the same.
_Tamarack._--See Larch.
_Teak._--A tree of great commercial importance in India and Africa. Has
been transplanted to some extent in the Southern states but not yet
sufficiently numerous to be considered a road tree.
_Thorn._--Several members of the Cratægus family are suitable for
landscape planting. _Crataegus crus-galli_, _C. tomentosa_, and _C.
coccinea_, native plants, and the English hawthorn, _C. oxyacantha_,
are all recommended where small trees are desired.
_Tulip Tree._--See Poplar.
_Tupelo._--Same as Black or Sour Gum.
_Ulmus._--See Elm.
_Walnut._--Three species of walnut are used for road trees--black
walnut, butternut, and English (Persian) walnut. The black walnut
(_Juglans nigra_) makes a handsome tree when allowed to develop
individually, from 90 to 125 feet high, and 3 to 8 feet in diameter
with a normal spread about one-half the height of the tree. The edible
nuts are the delight of the small boy and as they are usually gathered
up from the ground after they fall their collection will not injure
the tree. The foliage is not very dense and it will not take away
greatly the fertility of neighboring ground hence, makes an almost
ideal road tree. Since the World War, according to Reed[219] it has
been considered a favorite as a memorial tree. Its native habitat is
the eastern half of the United States intermittently from the Atlantic
to Nebraska and Texas, but it thrives when transplanted to the states
of Oregon and Washington and is being used extensively by the State of
California as a road tree. The trees grow well from the nut or they may
be transplanted from a nursery by cutting the tap root one year ahead
of transplanting as is necessary for most nut trees. The butternut (_J.
cinerea_), sometimes called white walnut, is a very similar tree,
a little smaller and has not quite so extensive a native range. The
nuts are not round like the black walnut, but lanceolate in shape.
On the whole the black walnut is the better road tree. The English
walnut (_J. regia_) is a native of Persia, but is grown very largely
in orchards in California where the annual crop of nuts is more than
20,000,000 pounds. Hardy varieties suitable for more severe climates
are advertised but it is not here recommended that they be planted
where experience has not shown them to thrive. The tree itself is of
fine appearance, and in the warmer climates makes a good road tree.
_White Wood._--A name given to trees of various genera. See Basswood,
Poplar.
_Willow._--Willows may be used in decorative planting to a considerable
extent, especially along banks to keep them from washing and other low
places. The black willow (_Salix nigra_) grows into an interesting tree
with a rough trunk and long pendulous limbs and narrow lance-shaped
leaves. It resembles in general appearance the pepper trees of
California. It should be used more as a road tree across low bottoms.
It grows only 40 to 50 feet high, but its spread is fully as much,
giving it a rounded, ball-shaped top. _Salix regatis_, _S. alba_,
_S. vitillina aurea_, and _S. laurifolia_ are all recommended for
decorative effects.
_Yucca._--Many of the yuccas are merely herbaceous plants with
beautiful flowers, but the Joshua tree (_Yucca arborescens_) grows to
be 25 to 40 feet in height, and two feet in diameter; it is so very
ungainly that it is picturesque.
=Shrubs.=--Any nursery catalogue will give a wilderness of shrubs from
which a good selection may be made. But the discerning road gardener
will take advantage of the native plants and not only preserve them
but so arrange them along the roadside as to give unity and variety to
a complete stretch of road. We notice the large trees because their
size thrust them upon us, but we are likely to overlook the smaller
plants or think of them simply as weeds to be got rid of. The native
wild plants are all too fast disappearing. Practically the only places
where they may now be found are along the highways and the railways,
and in the farther forests where the cattle have not yet trampled
them out. The road man who has a love for nature in his heart will
take interest in preserving for future generations, that they may
know what this land looked like before the hand of man changed it for
better or for worse, these narrow strips of natural loveliness. Then
let the graceful wild flowers and the sturdy shrubs be a connecting
link between the sordid interests of man, symbolized by the hard, hard
pavement and the boundless breadth of God’s goodness exemplified by
the abundance in the vast outspread of fertile fields and the deep and
reverent dignity of the mighty forest.
If nature’s wild flowers and shrubs are selected there will be no
need of artificial fences and pergolas for support or straw and hay
covering in the winter thus losing to the passerby at least one-half
the pleasure that Nature herself can furnish. Nature is liberal and
will furnish artistic pleasure the year around if given a reasonable
opportunity to do so.
_Alder._--The green or mountain alder (_Alnus virdis_), 3 to 8 feet
tall. Also _A. incana_, a little larger--8 to 20 feet. Adapted to damp
soils.
_Barberry._--Plant only the Japanese barberry (_Berberis thunbergii_)
as the common variety has been convicted of carrying the spores of
wheat rust. The barberry has slender graceful branches with fine bright
green foliage. Small yellow flowers in June with berries turning
scarlet and remaining on bushes all winter. Colors up nicely after
frost. Three to 5 feet high.
_Button Bush_, _Cephalanthus occidentalis_.--Hardy native shrub, 4 to 8
feet high. Globular heads of white flowers in the spring. Foliage good.
_Bush Honeysuckle_, _Lonicera tartarica_.--Four to 10 feet. Upright
somewhat spreading branches; bright green foliage. Flowers freely in
May and June. A good background for smaller shrubs.
_Buck Brush_, _Ceanothus_.--North American species of the buckthorn
family. Yellow or blue flowers in terminal clusters, small shrub.
_Butterfly Bush_, _Buddleia Variabilis Magnifica_.--This is advertised
highly as an ever bloomer, beginning in early spring and continuing
until frost. Hardy except in extreme Northern states.
_Cinque Foil_, _Potentilla fruticosa_.--Three to 4 feet. Hardy native
shrub. Bright yellow flowers.
_Cherries_, _Prunus_.--The native plums and cherries are nearly all
so small as to be called shrubs. They are worthy of planting for
ornamental purpose. The sand cherries are natives of the western
sandhill regions; _P. besseyi_, and _P. pumila_ are excellent. For
massing the common chokecherry is one of the best small trees known,
the flowers are beautiful and the fruit is excellent food for the birds.
_Coral Berry, Indian Currant_, _Symphoricarpus vulgaris_.--Common
native shrub, graceful, and holds through the winter bright little red
berries. Two to 3 feet high.
_Currant._--See Ribes.
_Dogwood_, _Cornus_, _several species_.--About thirty species
distributed over the Northern Hemisphere. Chiefly shrubs, all hardy
and ornamental, handsome foliage, stems, flowers, and fruits. The
unfortunate name “dogwood” seems to have been fastened upon these
beautiful plants because a decoction of the astringent bark was used
to wash mangy dogs.[220] The dogwoods are mostly shrubs, except three
or four species in the Southern states. Some of the smaller ones were
called Kinnikinick[221] by the Indians, applied to at least the red
osier (_C. stolonifera_) and the silky cornel (_C. amomum_). The highly
colored red and purple stems give them a striking appearance in the
winter. In the summer the foliage bright green in some, grayish green
in others, the white flowers and white berries changing to blue,
always prominent even after the foliage has taken on gorgeous coloring
in autumn, makes them stand out prominently from other bushes in their
neighborhood. By all means let the dog-woods be preserved by planting
along not too dry places in our roadways. The species especially
desirable are, in addition to the two mentioned, _C. baileyi_, _C.
sericea_, _C. mas_, _C. sanguinea_, and _C. horida_.
_Daphne._--_D. mezereum_, a low shrub, 1 to 3 feet, with rose-colored
flowers. _D. cneorum_, a hardy evergreen shrub from Europe.
_Deutzia._--Not quite hardy in the North. There are several species.
_Elder._--The common elder, _Sambucus canadensis_, is a rapid-growing
plant with ornamental qualities of high rank. Its pinnately compound
leaves, its beautiful little lacy flowers which combine into
broad compound cymes giving them a very showy appearance, and its
fruit--small berries in the same showy cyme bunches--make it worthy the
notice of road gardeners. The golden elders give bright color but are
probably freaky. In the South the Mexican elder (_S. mexicana_) grows
into a tree 30 feet high. Likewise the pale elder (_S. glanca_) on the
Pacific coast; it is said to grow 50 feet tall in Oregon. The fruit of
the elder is edible; is used for wine and pies.
_Exochorda grandiflora._--A shrub bearing white blossoms in spring.
_Evergreens._--A number of the evergreens are dwarf or so slow growing
that they may be very effectively used for shrubbing. The arbor vitæ
has been used in hedges. Pines, cedars and spruces are commonly used to
heighten architectural effects.
_Fringe Tree_, _Chionanthus virginica_.--A shrub or small tree
blossoming profusely about lilac flowering time. Foliage not
particularly good.
_Flowering Almond_, _Amygdalus nana_.--A dwarf almond cultivated for
its flowers, imported from Russia. Grows 4 or 5 feet high and in the
spring the slender stems are almost wholly covered with the blossoms.
_Flowering Crab._--Nearly every state has the wild crab-apple, which is
hardy and a most beautiful flowering plant when in bloom. The fruit is
usually small and sour, but the early settlers found it fine for jelly,
and the wild tang is delightful. Crab trees have been domesticated so
that now nursery men claim a double flowering crab, extremely beautiful
with fragrant double flowers of delicate pink. The tree is of medium
height.
_Golden Bell_, _Forsythia viridissima_, and _F. Fortunei_ bear great
quantities of yellow flowers in early spring. At their best in the
Eastern states. _F. syspensa_ is a weeping or semi-prostrate form.
_Hercules Club_, _Aralia spinosa_.--Six to 18 feet high. Its large
leaves give it a somewhat tropical effect.
_Hydrangia paniculata grandiflora._--The shrub hydrangeas furnish large
showy white flowers in the autumn after most flowers have gone. Very
effective between the greens of the shrubs and trees and of the grass.
_Indian Currant._--See Coral Berry.
_Japan Quince_, _Pyrus japonica_.--Cultivated for its brilliant scarlet
flowers in early spring.
_Judas Tree._--See Red Bud.
_June Berry_, _Amalanchier canadensis_.--Also called service berry (in
the Black Hills, sarvice berry) or shad bush. A slender tree, 6 to
20 feet, with pretty flowers forming early before the leaves. Fruit,
berries, one-third of an inch in diameter, edible, extremely well liked
by the birds. Two other species, _A. oboralis_ and _A. alnifolia_, are
equally useful as ornamental trees. The first and second species native
in Canada and North Central states; the third west of the mountains
from Alaska to Oregon.
_Kerria japonica._--Three to 8 feet. A pretty shrub with slender twigs
and yellow flowers.
_Lilac._--The common cultivated lilacs, an important gardening
shrub, belongs to the genus _Syringa_. They may be used in clumps
or in hedges, and require very little care except to cut them back
occasionally and clean out dead wood. Several fine varieties are now on
the market.
_Mock Orange._--See Syringa.
_Oleaster_, _Elaeagnus Longipes_, _E. argentia_ and _E.
hortensis_.--Sometimes called wild Olive. Said to have edible fruits.
_Pea-Tree_, _Caragana frutescens_, a low shrub bearing yellow pea-like
flowers in spring. _C. arborescens_, similar, larger.
_Plums._--A number of wild plums are very suitable for road planting.
In fact they plant themselves if given an opportunity. Good for massing
and screening. _Prunus americana_ and _P. maritima_ are especially
recommended.
_Privet._--Hardy shrubby hedge plants. Best adapted for carefully
trimmed low hedges 2 to 3 feet high. _Ligustrum vulgare_ and _L.
ovalifolium_ are both used. For the North Central states it is
recommended that “Amoor River” privet be used as the “California”
privet is not altogether hardy. May also be used for massing.
_Raspberry_, _Rubus odoratus_.--The flowering raspberry grows from 3
to 5 feet tall and may be used in clumps for small massing wherever
brambles may be desired.
_Red Bud, Judas Tree_, _Cercis canadensis_.--A very striking small
tree, from 10 to 30 feet high, in the early spring when its bright
red-purple flowers appear before the leaves. Very noticeable in the
bluffs along the large rivers where it dots the gray and greening
hillsides with splotches of color. The foliage and bark are also good,
so that it is well worthy of note for roadside planting.
_Ribes aureum._--Sometimes called the flowering currant. A very hardy
native, useful for massing. It bears bright yellow flowers, whose spicy
fragrance soon call attention to it when in bloom. Grows from 4 to 7
feet high and spreads rapidly by suckers. Other species of currant and
gooseberries are valuable for massing.
_Rhododendrons._--In the Eastern states as far north as Massachusetts
these ornamental plants are very popular. As a road shrub it could
hardly be used on account of the thieving propensities of some people.
_Roses._--The hardy flowering roses in massed groups will give color
and interest to the roadside. The sweet-brier and single prairie rose
grow profusely in the Central West. The ramblers may be used to cover
old fences. The difficulty with most roses is a lack of artistic beauty
after they have ceased flowering. A few have good foliage for massing.
In Oregon and other Coast states the perpetual blooming roses may be
utilized.
_Shad Bush._--See June Berry.
_Snowball._--There are several species and varieties. _Viburnum opulus_
and its varieties are probably best. Very hardy, good foliage, from
4 to 10 feet high, and when in bloom in the spring a most impressive
sight with each bunch of blossoms looking like a truly big snowball.
_Snowberry._--Similar to the Indian currant, but has white berries. A
very hardy native; blooming in the late summer its berries remain on
the bush-like small pearls until late into the winter. _Symphoricarpus
racemosus_ is the native shrub well worthy of cultivation. Will make
its way wild along the roads if given a chance.
_Spice Bush_, _Calycanthus floridus_.--A small shrub bearing spicy
flowers.
_Spirea._--The several species are all very artistic shrubs and worthy
of the popularity which they bear. Can be used as a single bush, in
hedges or in masses. The long graceful bends of the slender stems,
reminding one of the streams of water from a fountain, their beautiful
foliage and above all the foaming flowers in the spring time make them
the horticulturist’s favorite. _Spirea van houttei_, bridal wreath,
is considered to be the best, although _S. prunifolia_, and _S.
Thunbergii_ have their admirers. _S. anthony waterer_ bears crimson
flowers.
_Squawberry._--A local name sometimes given to Indian currant and
snowberry, q. v.
_St. Johnswort._--A number of small shrubs of the family _Hypericum_.
_H. aureum_ has a height of 3 feet and flourishes in the Southern and
Western states. Wild it prefers rocky situations and shady spots.
Yellow flowers.
_Strawberry Tree_, _Euonymus atropurpureus_.--Also called burning
bush. Hardy in the South. Bright ornamental fruit persists into the
winter.
_Sumach._--Several species of the family _Rhus_. They are native over a
wide range and very hardy. The leaves are pinnately compound and hang
down from the top of the stem something like a palm leaf, giving a
suggestion of the tropics. Of about 120 species of _Rhus_ some sixteen
are found in North America; all but four are shrubs. The poison sumach,
_Rhus vernix_, should never be allowed to grow along the roads as
touching the plant is said to be far worse than handling poison ivy.
It grows in wet or swampy ground and the white berries are in drooping
clusters. The ornamental sumach, _R. glabra_, is the ordinary common
roadway plant, with its upright fruit clusters persisting late into the
winter showing deep red against a gray or snowy white background. Its
foliage is bright and clean during the summer and turns to rich colors
in the autumn. Many ugly spots can with very little trouble be covered
with this harmless roadside friend.
_Sweet Gale_, _Myrica gale_, and sweet fern, _M. asplenifolia_, are
native small shrubs that can be well used in shrubbery border.
_Syringa._--Sometimes called mock orange. This shrub grows to about 8
or 12 feet high and on account of its many white flowers in late spring
or early summer is a favorite garden shrub. In shape and fragrance the
flowers resemble orange blossoms. It may be used in clumps, masses or
in hedges. It is very satisfactory because it seldom fails to bloom and
has good appearance afterward. Old wood should be cut out. The best
species to plant are _Philadelphus coronarius_, _P. grandiflorus_, and
_P. gordonianus_.
_Tamarix_ or _Tamarisk_.--A shrub of the genus _Tamarix_, which has
been imported from the Mediterranean regions. The feathery foliage
reminds one of the cypress vine. The species best adapted to the United
States is _T. gallica_. It bears pink flowers in late summer. Is good
for covering unsightly banks. May be propagated from cuttings. It will
kill out in extreme winters.
_Wegelia_, _Diervilla florida_.--Several varieties. Good blooming
plants and usually hardy. Rather poor foliage.
_White Alder_, _Clethra alnifolia_.--Native shrub 3 to 10 feet high.
_Willow._--Many of the _Salix_ family are shrubby and can be used well
in low places. As they come into foliage early in the spring they are
often used by the landscape artist. The shining twigs and leaves lend
variety.
_Yucca._--The yuccas may be used effectively with formal plantings, or
to lend variety to naturalesque schemes.
=Climbing Plants.=--A few climbing plants, perhaps, will be needed to
complete the plan, but they can readily be found in such plants as:
_The Wild Grape._--It will grow 50 feet in a season and cover the
nakedness of an old fence or stump with lovely foliage and furnish
quantities of fruit for bird or human consumption.
_Ampelopsis quinquefolia._--Another rapid grower, also furnishing
beauty and bird food. _A. veitchii_ and _A. englemanii_ are fine for
covering brick and stone work.
_Bittersweet._--Another native climber showing beautiful red berries
throughout the winter.
_Clematis._--Several varieties, some of them native, perfectly hardy,
such as _Clematis virginiana_, not only gives its flowers but extends
the pleasure long into the winter with the “old man’s beard.” _C.
paniculata_ is a favorite, flowering profusely late in the fall.
_Honeysuckle_, _Lonicera_.--White, red and yellow are found. _L.
sempervirens_ will be satisfactory for roadside work.
_Trumpet Creeper._--A hardy rapidly growing vine with large
trumpet-shaped red flowers.
_Wistaria._--A rapid growing favorite with large spike like flowers,
violently purple.
There are a number of other climbers available. The hop vine is a good
grower, coming up year after year from the root. The several morning
glories, from the old fashioned white that was the bane of the corn
cultivator and the purple glory our grandmothers loved to the Japanese
variety and the moon flower, are all good in place.
There is not time to go into the wealth of hardy perennial flowers,
and the annuals which seed themselves, nor the grasses that may be
utilized. The author would refer those who are interested to works on
landscape gardening and horticulture. For a brief discussion of “the
principles governing outdoor art with sundry suggestions for their
application in the commoner problems of gardening,” see “Landscape
Gardening,” by F. A. Waugh, Orange Judd Company, New York.
=Semi-Formal Style.=--In what precedes much has been said about
beautifying the highway by proper planting. Perhaps one of the nicest
and most ornamental pieces of road is that with a single row of trees,
uniformly set and of uniform size, down each side; the grass from the
roadway out neatly clipped; and the edge of the roadway where it joins
the ditch a distinct line parallel to the road center line. This is the
geometrical or formal style fully carried out. Hard maples set, say,
75 feet apart will give satisfactory results. For long level stretches
the Lombardy poplar will give a pleasing variety to the landscape.
Careful attention to the small details of keeping the road surface well
smoothed, the side lines straight and the grass and weeds mowed, will
add wonderfully to the pleasure of traveling on any highway. It is not
the intention to have the grass smoothed with a lawn mower--however,
with the horse-drawn and motor driven mowers now available that would
not be impossible, and the road would look all the better for such
clipping--but to have it mowed two or three times a season to give the
grass a chance to overcome ugly weeds. For this reason the side ditches
should be as wide and shallow as possible in order that they might grow
grass on their bottoms and the mowing be done with a machine.
=Telephone and Other Poles.=--The matter of telephone, telegraph,
electric light, and other poles is one that will bother. Telephone
companies pay no more and not as much directly for the use of the
highway as do trucks, but upon the theory that telephone communication
is necessary for the transaction of community business and for the
general dissemination of information, and from the further fact that
any charge made for the use of the right of way would be passed on to
the public as a sort of indirect tax, they are in most states allowed
to set their poles along the roadside. The poles are more or less
unsightly and as far as the beauty of the highway is concerned it would
be better if they could be removed. In cities and villages the wires
are being carried in cables and in many places under ground.
=“The Ideal Section.”=--The so-called ideal section of pavement being
sponsored by the Lincoln Highway Association, located about 40 miles
south of Chicago, between Dyer and Schererville, Lake County, Indiana,
is to have all pole lines and other unsightly features removed, that
the natural beauty of the right of way may be enhanced. A prominent
landscape gardener has made extensive studies of the land and natural
features, it being in a wooded country, and has developed a plan
of beautification which will be worked out along the roadside. The
general specifications of the “Ideal Section” calls for 40 feet of
concrete paving, 10 inches thick and reinforced with steel in such a
manner that it is hoped to prevent cracking. Shoulders of 5 feet on
each side will make the used roadway 50 feet wide. It is to be placed
in the middle of a 100-foot right of way, allowing 25 feet each side
for landscape gardening. The plans for the “Ideal Section” follow the
advice of a highly trained technical committee of road engineers and
road enthusiasts, and while they do not claim this represents the
ultimate in highways, the Association believes an attempt should be
made to crystallize the ideas of the foremost highway authorities of
the country into a tangible expression of the ideal, even though the
expression must lack perfection.
Of course, it is not possible that all roads in the country can be made
“ideal sections.” Nor even can telephone poles be banished from the
right of way. To do this, no matter how desirable it might be from an
esthetic standpoint, is impracticable at the present time. It would
not only be a very great hardship to the pole-using companies but the
expense of removal and the cost of new right of way, or, if they be
forced under ground, the cost of conduits, cables, and installation
would become a part of the capital investment on which dividends must
be earned. Since this would not bring extra business it would be passed
on to the public by increased rates. As “it is a condition and not a
theory that confronts us,” we must make the best of it and design the
roadside treatment with the poles and wires as a part of it.
=Location of Poles.=--In prairie district where there are no trees to
interfere it is customary to set the poles either on the fence line
or half the length of the cross-arms into the right of way. In case
there are high hedges, trees or other obstructions, the poles are set
near the side ditch, and trolley poles often on the very edge of the
traveled roadway. On the whole it would seem best in most places to set
the poles just outside of the ditch, leaving if possible the extreme
edge for the planting of trees and shrubs. Neither poles nor trees
should be set on the middle of the space between the edge of the ditch
and the right-of-way boundary. In either case the limbs of the trees
and the wires will interfere and the wiremen will hack the trees and
leave them unsightly. In some states an attempt is made to prevent this
and other vandalism by legal enactment, making it unlawful to cut any
trees on the right of way without express permission of the highway
commissioner.
No definite fixed rule can be made for the position of the poles. It
is a problem to make the best of them. Also having once been set the
pole owners may refuse to reset them, and it might be difficult to
get courts to see the necessity of doing so. Therefore the landscape
gardener will have to make his design with reference to them or, in
cooperation with the pole users, get them changed. In the design
natural condition should be preserved as far as possible. It might be
wanted rightly to preserve large trees standing near the roadway; this
would force poles to the fence line. When the poles are thus placed on
the right-of-way boundary it may be necessary for the company to secure
an easement from the owner of adjacent property. The highway officials,
no doubt, under such circumstances would coöperate with the company in
securing it.
By considering the poles as a part of the formal or semi-formal
treatment of the roadside, having them arranged uniformly as to
setting, distance, height, and length of cross-arms, they will not
appear very ugly and even may unite interestingly, at least, with the
landscape. Trees may be trained and pruned so that their branches will
be above the wires, and shrubs may be grown below them. Anyway, the
wires look like business.
=Legislation.=--Michigan, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and possibly other
states have legislation covering some or all features that have been
mentioned for improving and making attractive the appearance of the
highway. Other states require property owners to mow the roadside
abutting their land each year before weed seeds ripen, but this is
not for the purpose of beautifying the roadway. The laws of Michigan
provide for the planting and care of trees along state trunk line
roads and national aid roads and allow counties and smaller political
divisions to appropriate funds for this purpose. The injury or cutting
of trees without authority from proper road officials is made a
misdemeanor. Arrangements are also made for the Agricultural College to
furnish trees and advice for roadside planting.
The laws of Michigan contemplate first a formal application by the
counties for roadside improvement, then the plans are made by the staff
of the Agricultural College. The necessary trees and shrubs will be
obtained from the Agricultural College, or from local sources; nearby
groves often furnishing all that are necessary, and the owners are
willing to donate them for thinning often betters their own property.
In other cases automobile clubs and other local organizations pay for
them.
=Local Conditions Determine Planning.=--It cannot be too much
emphasized that local conditions must determine the planning. The soil
and topography, the future development of the roadway for the probable
amount of traffic it is to carry, are all factors that should be
considered. Neither must the planting be so profuse that the roadway
is hemmed in with no lookout. Vision of the interesting points of view
as well as vision along the highway itself must not be obstructed.
Long vistas of fields, of hills and valleys, of mountain peaks and
ranges, of lakes and rivers, are more interesting usually than all the
planting that could be made on the right of way. Long, straight rows
of trees uniformly spaced, while excellent in some places, might if
continued too far become monotonous. Fit the planting to the landscape;
possibly a clump here a clump there, or a small grove leading up a
draw on land unfit for farming may be arranged in coöperation with the
owner. Woodland should be purchased and parks prepared for picnics
and outings. Massachusetts has done much in this way. The Government
invites the public to make use of the National Parks and National
Forest Reserves, but they are too far away from most people to fill
an every-day want, therefore a need of local road beautification and
roadside parks.
“Cover up ugliness and leave beauty,” is a good slogan, and it must
not be thought to be inapplicable upon our home roads. But season
everything with reason. A bold rock jutting out may be more interesting
than the same rock covered with ivy. Appropriateness and fitness are
fully as essential as beauty alone. So a bold line setting out clearly
the safe boundary of the road may be more fitting than any attempt to
harmonize the road with its surroundings. Good judgment and a sense of
artistic fitness are the key to road esthetics.
SELECTED REFERENCES
BOEHLER, C. F., “The Appearance of our Highways,” _Good Roads_,
Vol. LXII, p. 205; “Selection, Arrangement and Planting of Roadside
Trees,” _Engineering and Contracting_, Vo. LVIII, pp. 233-234.
BRYANT, RALPH C., “Logging,” John Wiley & Sons, New York.
DAME, L. L. AND BROOKS, HENRY, “Trees of New England,” Ginn &
Company, New York.
DUDLEY, WM. R. Report to the U. S. Senate through Senator O. H.
Platt, of the record obtained by counting concentric rings of a
felled sequoia tree, Senate Document 156, Vol. V, 58th Congress.
FERNOW, B. E., “The Care of Tree in Lawn, Street and Park,” Henry
Holt & Co., New York.
GOING, MAUD, “Our Field and Forest Trees.” A. C. McClurg & Co.,
Chicago.
HOUGH, ROMEYN B., “Handbook of the Trees of the Northern U. S. and
Canada, East of the Rocky Mountains.” Hough, Romeyn B., Lowville, N.
Y.
KELLOGG, R. S., “The Lumber Industry.” Ronald Press Company, New York.
Lincoln Highway, Ideal Section of, _Engineering and Contracting_,
Vol. LVI, pp. 537-538.
MUIR, JOHN, “Our National Parks.” Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
PARKHURST, H. E., “Trees, Shrubs and Vines of the Northeastern United
States.” Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York.
REED, C. A., “Useful Trees for Roadside Planting,” A paper before the
Michigan Good Roads Association, 1921, _Good Roads_, Vol. LXI, pp.
173-176.
ROGERS, JULIA, E., “The Tree Book,” in “New Nature Library,”
Doubleday, Page & Co., New York, 1914.
SARGENT, CHARLES SPRAGUE, “Trees and Shrubs.” Vols. I and II, 4 Parts
to a Volume. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
SNOW, C. H., “The Principal Species of Wood,” John Wiley & Sons, New
York.
SOLOTAROFF, WILLIAM, “Shade Trees in Towns and Cities.” John Wiley &
Sons, New York.
“Trees for City Streets,” _Public Works_, Vol. LIII, p. 63.
WAUGH, F. A., “Landscape Gardening,” Orange Judd Company, New York.
FOOTNOTES
[212] In a paper presented, 1921, at the meeting of the Michigan
State Good Roads Association.
[213] “The Principal Species of Wood,” by C. H. Snow, Wiley & Sons,
New York.
[214] “Useful Trees for Roadside Planting,” a paper before the
Michigan State Good Roads Association, 1921.
[215] “Forestry and Irrigation,” August, 1903.
[216] Snow: “The Principal Species of Wood.” 2d Ed., Wiley & Sons, N.
Y.
[217] Op. cit.
[218] Congressional Record, Senate Doc. 156, Vol. V, 58th Cong.
[219] Op. cit.
[220] New Nature Library, Vol. III, p. 411, “The Tree Book,” by Julia
E. Rogers. Doubleday, Page & Co., New York, 1914.
[221] This Indian word seems to have been applied to many plants the
leaves or bark of which was used for smoking.
CHAPTER XIII
AIDS AND ATTRACTIONS TO TRAFFIC AND TRAVEL
It is a well-recognized fact that pleasure riding constitutes by far
the greater part of automobile riding. With ten million pleasure cars
and two million trucks that is obvious, notwithstanding every pleasure
car is used more or less for business.
Assuming that the pleasure cars average 3000 miles per year each,
a conservative estimate, and that two-thirds of this is purely for
pleasure,[222] and that the average number of passengers is 2¹⁄₂, there
results the almost inconceivable number of fifty billion passenger
miles. If one person did all that traveling he would have to circle
the earth two million times, or about one circuit every quarter of
a minute. Each of the hundred million people in the United States,
therefore, joy rides annually to the extent of 500 miles, at an expense
of about $50, one-fourth of which is for gasoline and oil. Or, stating
it another way the expense of this pleasure, recreation, outing,
release from business cares, is about $1 per week per person.[223]
This hardly seems to be too much for the returns received, but if it is
it cannot be helped. The automobile is here. It is here to stay. It is
going to be used more and more. And economy is not the most stimulating
element toward its use. Like the telephone, it is rapidly being
emancipated from the luxury class and is establishing itself among the
necessaries.
This being true, the road must not only be made usable in an economic
sense but must also cater to the comfort and pleasure of the user.
“Make business a pleasure and pleasure is business.” This means new
developments not only in the road construction, surfacing, maintenance,
but in the many other things that always follow improvements. The road
was made smooth and hard and level because larger loads at less expense
could be hauled; they were widened and the curves flattened that there
might be more speed, thus cutting down the cost of transportation. All
these things came along as a matter of economy, but at the same time
they brought increased safety and much pleasure to the traveler. Now
the beautification of the highway, discussed in the last chapter, while
primarily for pleasure, has been found to increase the use of the road
and bring money in new ways to the pockets of many. The beautiful and
the scenic are truly economic assets of great worth. California will
realize many times over from the tourist traffic alone the cost of
her wonderful roads. The famous Columbia River Highway will return to
Oregon again and again its cost through tourists and other pleasure
riders attracted to it as bees to sweets by the lure of its scenic
vistas. Standing upon the streets of my home city it is an unusual day
if I do not see license tags from a half dozen states within a few
minutes, sometimes ranging from coast to coast and from the Great Lakes
to the Gulf.
Think what it means to a community to have all these people pass
through it. If they have good roads to travel upon, few hardships
and a hospitable treatment along the way, they are bound to feel
kindly toward the community, speak well of it when they go home.
This, unintentionally perhaps, suggests to others to travel over the
same roads, and some, no doubt, will return for the purpose of taking
up their abode in a community so hospitable and up to date in its
activities. If there are factories that make articles for sale the
traveler having seen their signs and buildings as he passes by feels
a kindly interest in them ever after. The manufactories, the stores,
wholesale and retail, the farms, and all others will directly or
indirectly benefit from the travel and interchange of social courtesies
brought about by it.
The direct sale of goods and supplies, the sums spent at garages and
hotels constitute a very small part of the benefits received from
those who use the roads, yet it is by no means negligible, for “many
mickles make a muckle.” It may be sordid to think of the money brought
in by these persons, and taken out in almost equal amounts by our own
travelers, but the money certainly is put into circulation and flows
from those who have more to those who have less, balancing, as the
rains do the rivers, the backward flow through various channels from
those who have less to those who have more. If the transportation
of commodities and goods from market to market over the country can
be likened to the life blood of the human body, then the passage
of citizens from place to place is like the lymphatic circulation
repairing wastes due to ambition, greed, and ignorance.
=Ranking and Parking.=--Frequently the things which will attract the
motorist are those which also prevent accidents, which cause vehicles
to interfere with each other as little as possible, relieve congestion,
which make it easier for the stranger to find his way, as well as make
it more pleasant and more comfortable for passenger and driver. All
road regulations might be considered under the heading of conveniences
and comforts, for they all tend to make traveling more safe and
pleasant. Of arrangements of this character the first to be discussed
will be ranking and parking.
Ranking is defined by the “General Traffic Regulations of the Council
of National Defense, U. S. A.” as “standing vehicles behind one another
parallel with the curb,” and parking as “standing vehicles along side
one another at an angle to curb.”[224]
Notwithstanding these definitions by common usage the word “parking” is
made to include any method whatsoever of “standing automobiles.” Just
as the generic term “man” includes both “man” and “woman” so the term
“parking” includes both “parking” and “ranking,” and the verb “park”
both “park” and “rank.” Usage makes this so whether it be scientific or
not.
People who come to the city or have business in the city must have
some place to stand their vehicles. The question of where this shall
be is becoming one of great importance, as the number of vehicles
is constantly increasing and the parking space does not increase
correspondingly. A number of cities are making local regulations
limiting the time of parking in certain localities. Such limitations
seem just, for the reason that near large office buildings, for
instance, all available space is appropriated by cars parked early
in the day which remain there until their owners, the occupants of
the offices, are ready to go home at evening. Outsiders and others
wishing to park near places where they desire to do business find it
impossible to do so. As a result they either walk back several blocks
or make their purchase where they can find parking space. The writer
has frequently done the latter when he really wanted to patronize the
store near which he could not park. The stores at such places actually
lose considerable trade that they are entitled to and for which they
pay large rent or other overhead. Such practice may in the long run
help the little store farther out and cause a corresponding decrease
in property and rental prices.
[Illustration: “RANKING”--STANDING VEHICLES BEHIND ONE ANOTHER PARALLEL
TO THE CURB.
1 2
VEHICLES RANKED AT CURB
VEHICLES RANKED IN CENTER
VEHICLES RANKED NEXT TO CAR TRACKS]
[Illustration: “PARKING”--STANDING VEHICLES ALONGSIDE ONE ANOTHER AT AN
ANGLE TO THE CURB.
VEHICLES PARKED AT CURB
VEHICLES PARKED AT CENTER
VEHICLES PARKED NEXT TO CAR TRACKS
AFTER END]
=Parking Spaces a Convenience to Motorists.=--The figures above show
several methods for parking. Spaces in front of fire hydrants and
certain building entrances, at crossings, and street car stops are
usually marked with no-parking signs and the curb painted a distinctive
color. There may be other places where general parking and unlimited
time may be allowed. If these spaces happen to be paved it would be
well to have the parking stalls marked, as more machines will park
when this is done. Such general parking places may be alongside public
parks, vacant lots, in wide streets, and elsewhere where parking will
not interfere with the flow of traffic. Special and limited parking
spaces, such as those set aside for buses, cabs, and trucks, or those
on which the parking is limited as to time should be marked by the city
with a standard sign.
[Illustration: Space required for backing out.]
The angle of parking depends upon the width of street and other local
conditions. On narrow streets it may have to be zero degrees, that
is, ranking; on others 30°, 45°, 60° or 90°. Since it is best to have
machines head in, the 90° angle is difficult unless there is ample
turning space. Likewise in backing out the same difficulty occurs.
The following widths are suggested[225] for parking spaces if in the
middle of the street, and parking is at an angle of:
90°, the space should be at least 15 feet wide
45°, 15
37¹⁄₂°, 14
30°, 13
When the parking space is next to the curb the widths can be reduced
1 foot each. For any angle of stalls between 90° and 45° the parking
space width must be greater than 15 feet; for 60° about 16 feet. There
are streets where this could be allowed and more machines accommodated
than at 45°. Ranking spaces should be marked off 9 feet wide. Some
cities have special rules that ranked cars shall stand 6 feet apart to
allow any one to get out. The stalls, whether the parking is to be on
one side, both sides, or in the middle, should be slanted toward the
approach of traffic.
[Illustration: Rotary scheme for traffic around a danger zone where
streets meet at right angles.]
There is an advantage to parking in the center of the street in that
other vehicles may drive up to the sidewalk for loading or unloading
passengers. It is objected to, however, on the theory that more space
is required for mid-street parking. Where possible parking spaces
should be paved with hard surfaces, like concrete or brick. Vehicles
parked upon asphalt for a considerable time sink in, and as there is no
ironing out by traffic of these depressions the pavement soon becomes
rough, retains rain and sprinkling water and rots.
An asphalt strip for driving and a concrete strip for parking is ideal,
for this separates distinctly by color the two spaces. On fairgrounds
and picnic grounds where many cars are to be taken care of two rows
of parked cars are headed together, then a lane and two more rows,
another, lane, etc. Parking should usually be at 90° to the lane.
=One Way and Rotary Traffic.=--In the crowded cities it has been found
necessary to confine traffic to one direction in some of the streets.
All streets not wide enough for two vehicles must of course have
one-way traffic. Streets a little wider may wish to park or rank cars
along one side and have one-way traffic on the other. With parallel
streets near together, wide streets even, may be used advantageously as
one-way streets with two or more lines of vehicles.
For the convenience of the public clear and distinct signs should be
placed at every entrance to a one-way street. Of these more will be
said further on.
At intersections there are two methods of procedure: The block and the
rotary. The block requires a traffic officer who stops for a short
time the traffic in one direction to allow the other to pass, then in
the other. Even the short spaces of time between his whistle blasts
are productive of much congestion. To alleviate this condition a
movement about the center of the intersection in one direction has been
devised. On the intersection of streets where there are small parks,
monuments or safety zones the rotary method is most successful. The
movement around is such as to leave the center of the intersection,
the park or monument, on the left, thus avoiding all left-hand turns.
In establishing one-way streets attempts are usually made to avoid
left-hand turns whenever possible. The figures on pp. 424 and 426 show
sketch plans for rotary service. When there are street-car tracks or
other local obstructions slight changes may have to be made. Note
only two full passing places for vehicles, _A_, and as only a part
of the traffic will want to cross congestion and danger are largely
eliminated. There may be one, two, or more lines of traffic at _B_;
depending on the width of the street. This scheme, according to Eno, is
so practical that after it was put into use in New York in 1908, it was
adopted the same year at Boston, by Paris in 1909, by Buenos Aires in
1910, and now is in use in many cities throughout the world.
[Illustration: Rotary scheme for traffic around a danger zone where
streets meet at an acute angle. Right angle passing at _A_. One, two or
more lines of traffic depending on width of street at _B_.]
=Taking Care of Opera House Traffic.=--Special arrangement must be made
in large cities in front of opera houses and other places where there
are large gatherings.[226] A most difficult problem occurs in New York
city between 38th and 41st streets, where several large theaters, opera
houses, and halls are located. Mr. Eno suggests that a numbered check
be given to the owner of each vehicle with a duplicate to the driver
on which are printed directions for lining up to be followed by the
driver. As each vehicle comes along the line the number is flashed on a
board continuously. Or, a roller blackboard could be used and as each
number is rolled out of sight at the top a new number is written in
at the bottom. As there might be several lines, at least one for each
entrance, there would be several boards and the owner’s ticket would
direct which one he is to watch.