Traffic and Parking

Street and highway traffic park ing have long been recognized as a m ajor problem of cities and towns th roughou t the nation . In m any com ­ m unities it is the num ber one headache. Inadequate handling of this problem has resulted in b lighted areas, decen tralization , and decreasing of property values. Every com m unity in the nation regularly experiences a huge econom ic loss from traffic accidents and congestion of traffic m ovem ent. T he developm ent of adequate transportation facilities and traffic con­ trol m easures requires com prehensive knowledge of the problem s to be overcom e. A thorough traffic study and survey is inevitable so as to p ro ­ vide safe and adequate m eans for those persons using the highway system. A n intelligent gathering of facts regard ing these problem s is necessary to provide this knowledge. T he analysis of factual d a ta ob tained in these studies can provide certain guide lines for the im plem entation of engineer­ ing projects. V ehicu lar park ing , pedestrian control and protection , e lim ination of traffic bottlenecks, and the developm ent of an efficient traffic system , are m ajo r problem s of increasing im portance in all com m unities. T he revision of parking tim e limits to insure most efficient usage of curb space, the creation of off-street park ing facilities, the determ ination of w here and w hat types of pedestrian controls are necessary, and the investiga­ tion of the causes of traffic delay and congestion, cannot be based on guesswork. T oo m uch m oney and too m any lives are at stake to perm it developm ent of traffic plans and controls by guesswork or by tria l and erro r m ethod. It isn ’t enough to simply observe w hat works successfully in one com m unity and apply it in another. T here are num erous rem edies for a given problem , and the characteristics of the p articu lar problem m ust be carefully studied in order to determ ine the most effective rem edy. Traffic studies if practical and carefully p lanned , are valuable not only as a basis for w orking out specific eng ineering rem edies bu t also to show im portan t trends in traffic characteristics and transporta tion dem and. Studies also develop inform ation tha t can be of aid to enforcem ent and educational agencies. T he police will generally find traffic data