CITY TRANSIT FACILITIES SHOULD NOT BE BASED ON TRAFFIC IMMEDIATELY IN SIGHT

The principle of city transit development is in reverse of that followed under private ownership and operation of street railway facilities. Expressed in another way, this principle means that city transit should precede the population not follow the population. This is the fundamental basis of a proper transit development. This principle cannot be emphasized too strongly. Only by utilizing this principle as the guiding policy of future transit development can the existing conditions in our large cities be cured.

Foot and horse travel limited the area, and in turn the population, of the pre-railroad cities of nearly a hundred years ago. The distance that the people would live away from the business center of the city was a matter of the time they were willing to spend in travel--to their occupations in the morning and to their homes at night. This time limit has always appeared to be about one hour. An hour's travel in a man and horse civilization meant three or four miles out for foot travellers. This was the real town limit. The area beyond, between the four and eight mile limit, or the horse travel limit, correspond to our suburban districts of today.

With the coming of the steam railroad, the population of the city soon increased and congestion occurred within the three to four mile limit. As soon as this happened the omnibus first, and then the horse-car was evolved to supply the need for cheap horse transit.

Profit Principal Consideration

What happened with the coming of the horse-railway? As long as foot transit prevailed, the street system alone properly circulated and distributed the population. There was no serious congestion because any new population could easily spread out. But afterwards--when the three or four mile limit was passed, the essential thing was not done. That is, the town authorities, the community representatives, did not cause the street car system to ramify over the old and the new town--over the entire town--in the same manner that the street system alone had formerly done. Instead, the matter was left to private interests. City transit was left to be exploited as a business proposition. Profit from the transit service became the principal consideration. In respect to City transit, this was the original sin--it was a sin of omission on the part of the town authorities. It was not the fault of the universally but unreasonably cursed corporations, and occurred in 1832 when the first horse-car line was started in New York City.

The natural course for a business man to follow is to develop his property so as to produce as quick a return as possible. He cannot be blamed for doing this. Now what did those owners do, nearly a hundred years ago, when they started out on their new business adventure--for, it was a new adventure in those days:--just as the first subway was an adventure in our time. They looked over the city, selected a route which seemed to offer the best prospect. Accidental conditions might have been entirely responsible for its location, but the chief requirement was the possibility of early profit on the investment. In other words, some traffic seemed immediately in sight, with a good chance for more to quickly follow. This was the controlling consideration. The question of circulating and distributing the city's population never entered into anybody's head.

New Lines Caused Congestion

Well, the line was constructed and operation started. Again the natural thing happened. Most people in the city had to walk to and from work--at three miles an hour. The lucky fellow who got near this new transit line--the moving street--could travel six or eight miles an hour. Of course, as many as could, moved near the routes. They were attracted, just as a magnet attracts. Just as the iron filings flow to the magnetic lines, so the people swarmed along the new line of travel--along the first horse-car line. What was the result? Congestion of course: Rush hour congestion; then housing congestion; Why say more? What happened next? Why other lines were constructed of course. Did their owners seek another part of the city for a route and endeavor to develop more of the city? Why should they? Mind you, it was a business proposition they were dealing with: Would it have been good business? No! There was congestion along the first lines. A new line was needed to relieve it. Why take the time to develop new territory when good business was immediately in sight. The answer was simple. The next line was located as near the first one as practicable. And so history has repeated itself from those old days until now through all the developments of the transit art, from the horse-car to the ten-car subway express train. Mean-while there was plenty of vacant space available for development and plenty of population to comfortably fill it. But instead of spreading out, the population started to spread up. Instead of living and working in one plane we are now doing so in forty planes, and the limit is not yet.

Transit System Expanded

When street railway transit became the essential means of circulating and distributing the people, and in this respect replaced foot transit, which made use of the streets alone, then it was that street railways should have been planned and constructed as one of the principal clements necessary in the development of the city. Then such street railway facilities should have completely and comprehensively covered the old and new town area in such a manner that the street railway system could circulate and distribute the population over the larger town just as effectively as the street system alone had formerly done for the foot traveller. Only by expanding the transit system in this way, as the streets were extended, and in advance of the population, could the new sections of the town be made equally accessible to the growing population, and only in this way could an even distribution of the population be maintained.

Expanding the transit system in this manner, of course, does not mean that there should be street railway lines in every street. But it does mean that a new lattice-like transit system should be superimposed upon all of the old and new street systems on an enlarged scale. Instead of through every street, the railway tracks should be located a number of streets apart in each direction, depending upon the character of the transit being considered.

In other words, just as the street system increases in proportion to the land area covered by the city, so should the city transit system do likewise. This means that when it becomes necessary to open up a new area for the growing population, the transit being considered.

In other words, just as the street system increases in proportion to the land area covered by the city, so should the city transit system do likewise. This means that when it becomes necessary to open up a new area for the growing population, the transit system and the street system should spread out over the new territory simultaneously--the two systems should expand together. Then the other services, such as water, sewers and light can follow. But transit is the first essential. With all of the other services mentioned, but without transit, a new city area is almost useless to the community.

Planning Neglected

But instead of the community assuming this important function, it left it to private initiative, as has already been explained at some length. Despite nearly a century of experience, had we been willing to heed it, we have almost ignored our moving streets--our transit lines. We have permitted private capital to exploit our transit necessity, and we have gone on planning foot transit street systems during all this time, and wondered since we were doing what we had been doing from the beginning, why the population did not spread out at once to all of the new areas opened up, even though real transportation was not yet in sight. That is to say, we have left out our planning, the city transit system, the real circulating and distributing medium of our modern cities--one of the essential elements necessary to the orderly development of the community.

Transportation Plans Outgrowth

Suppose today an architect planned and constructed a 30-story skyscraper and supplied it with most of the modern conveniences, such as running water, electric lights, sanitary arrangements and ventilation, but did not equip it with elevators before opening it up for public use but instead, only provided stairways from the first to the 30th floors, because a generation ago such stairways were all that were necessary in the then existing buildings. How much space do you think would be rented in that building? What would you think of that architect? I will not give your answer out loud. But do you realize that those who have been responsible for the planning and building of our modern cities might with equal justification be characterized in the same manner? That is just the theory--the theory of the hypothetical architect--upon which most of our modern cities are being planned and constructed today. We are planning and constructed today. We are planning our cities only with foot transit streets because such streets were all that was-necessary to circulate and distribute the population 100 years ago.

If the area basis of developing city transit had been followed from the beginning, many of the most objectionable features of city life would not exist today. Population congestion, housing congestion, business congestion, manufacturing congestion, amusement congestion, and the great bogey of our transit problem--the rush hour congestion, all would be reduced to a minimum or eliminated. Everybody would be more comfortable, healthier and happier. Our people would not be living so much in layers. Instead most people would be in their own homes spread out through the open country, thus making living conditions more ideal